3 Midterm Reposts

Self Deprecation

My problem that I've had for most of my life is my minor OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder). It's not visible to others, but I have my tendencies. Firstly, I used to check my alarm clock multiple times throughout the night. I knew that it was set, but my brain wouldn't let me go to sleep without being COMPLETELY sure. For a majority of the night, 6:00 A.M. is all that I would see. It caused me to fall asleep a lot later than expected. I would wake up most days feeling more tired. This was a constant problem a few years ago, but has become less pronounced since then.

Another instance of OCD I had was making sure my watch was on positioned on my wrist perfectly. If it was even a little bit off, I would have to readjust it. I'm not sure if it bothered me because I wasn't used to wearing a watch or not, but it didn't really matter to me. All that mattered was trying to figure out how to stop. This was one of my shortest-loved tendencies. Once I started running cross country and it never stayed in place, I didn't notice it as much.

Lastly, the problem I had and still continue to have is constantly checking if I have all my homework and binders for the next day of school. It's annoying having to open my backpack, check the binders and books, and close it up again more than once every night. I'm surprised I haven't worn the zippers off of my backpack from repeatedly using them. However, it has made me more prepared for my classes. I rarely miss home works and always have the right binders for the right classes.

Angry Letter

Dear Bishop Feehan,

For a school with such positive reviews, I find many flaws in the way the school is run and classes conducted. Some of these flaws encouraged me to transfer to Norton High. First off, six forty five minute classes a day is not a productive schedule. Very little work is accomplished in such a short amount of time. As a result, more homework is issued each night. Doing six classes worth of homework a night is a strenuous schedule. It is made even worse if a student participates in a sport,which I did. The homework would often keep me up late at night and even into the morning. It was as if they are trying to deprive students of sleep. Secondly, the religious courses are mandatory and graded improperly. Even though the school is Catholic, a student should be able to pick if they want to take the course or not. During my time at Feehan, I met multiple classmates who were not Catholic. Many attended Feehan strictly for academic reasons, not for the faith aspect. Also, the classes should not be graded the same as an academic course. It should simply be a pass or fail grade. Students who do the work should be rewarded. Lastly, mandatory iPad use was perhaps the worst part of the classes. Often during class, I would be extremely bored. To remedy this, I would search the web or play a game. Although it was entertaining, it took me away from the class and led to me not retaining information. This caused my grades to drop significantly, making my parents disappointed in my performance. If these deterrents were not present, I may have remained at Bishop Feehan. However, that was not the case. I find it ridiculous that the school costs around nine grand each year for minimal quality.

Signed,
Alex Domagalski

Humor/Satire Piece

This past summer, I traveled to Florida with two of my good friends. It was for one of my friend's birthday, so all the activities had been planned out. Many of the things we would be doing were new to me, such as riding ATVs on a track, Go-Kart racing, and playing a full 18 hole game of golf. I was pretty excited to try them out. The most interesting one was definitely the Segway tour through important landmarks of Florida. I expected it to be informative, however, I thought the Segways would be lacking in speed. I was pleasantly surprised when we were told that they could reach speeds of 20 miles per hour. But before we could start riding around, we had to watch a 30 minute safety video on what not to do on a Segway. On the tape, it told us to slowly make turns, go only as fast as the Segway allowed, and keep your balance while riding. Ironically, I decided to do the exact opposite of what I was warned. After the first couple of minutes of driving, I was swerving and speeding along the sidewalk, narrowly missing signs and pedestrians. The closest I came to falling of was when I lost control and barely missed getting swept off the Segway by a tree branch. Halfway through the tour, a storm rolled in and we were forced to take shelter in a library for half an hour. Once the storm ended, we continued the tour. Even with the ground freshly soaked from the downpour, my driving was still as erratic as before. I would come close to being thrown off after drifting too much or driving too fast. I personally couldn't see how ridiculous I looked, but my friends' laughing made it clear. 

"Modest Proposal" Satirical Essay

The problem I will be addressing is the constant hatred and violence between the police force and citizens in modern day America. It is truly a delicate situation and must be handled with extreme caution. Examples of this conflict can be seen in incident such as the trial in Ferguson and the NYPD. To alleviate the pain and suffering, drastic measures must be taken. I have come up with the most obvious solution, which is to remove the citizens from the country. In addition to the disappearance of society's aggressors, the detriments of life, such as automobile traffic, overpopulation starvation, and war, would be eradicated. However, some say that the removal of such an immense quantity of people is immoral and cruel. To combat this accusation, humans are inherently evil and corrupt. By displacing them, only the loyal and peaceful police officers will be left to run society correctly. With only troopers, civilization would run harmoniously and be free of complications. 

My suggested means of citizen removal is to either send a rocket to a foreign planet or moon or create an underwater community paid for by the money in possession of the said citizens. For the interstellar option, NASA would be recruited to build a spacecraft capable of fitting 10 million people comfortably or cramming 20 million people into all available space. Since luxuries would not be available on the ship, costs would be extremely cheap. The next decision would be where to drop off the former Earth dwellers. I personally favor the moon due to its close proximity to our home planet. It would require less resources to reach and low gravity is pretty awesome. The second means of citizen removal would be the construction of an underwater dystopia. It will be placed in the Pacific Ocean due to the large amount of space and depth. Civilians will be sent to this area through long glass tubes emitting from the water. Again, only the basic necessities will be supplied to those sent. Either option will be suitable and the cheaper, quicker course will be taken.

In conclusion, without the deviants and criminals of our current day, planet Earth will become completely free of any disturbances. Unemployment will be at 0%. Crime would become nonexistent. More energy will be conserved and food will be plentiful for all. Lastly, with only law enforcement running the world, the human race will prosper more than ever.

Walking Dead Fan Fiction

They had left. Rick, Michonne, Carl. Gone. He was alone again. Complete solitude with only his thoughts. Morgan lay there, insanity gripping the only comfort he had left: his mind. Slowly he rose out of his dormant state. He proceeded to go down the stairs and into the street. He looked around slowly. For the first time in a while, he realized what he had become. The traps, the writing, all of the weapons. He had turned into the man he never wanted to be. With this sudden realization, he knew what to do to make it right again. Quickly, he gathered all the necessary supplies, dismantled the deadly traps, and started his journey. Before Rick and his group had left, he caught a glimpse of the direction they were heading. He found their path and went as fast as he could after them.

It had been 2 hours since Morgan had left and darkness began to set in. He knew that it wasn't safe to continue in the current conditions. He decided to stop at the next hospitable building he came across. After another hour, he came across an abandoned school that looked safe enough to enter. With caution, he opened up the side door. Behind it was a large gymnasium, completely empty with no sign of other survivors. Slowly, he checked every corner of the room. He then began to unpack his sleeping bag to spend the night. While he searched through his bag he accidentally dropped his flashlight, causing it to roll into a metal door. This created a loud bang and was followed by a dull growl. As fast as he could, Morgan sprinted to the door, grabbed his flashlight, and headed for the exit. To his dismay, the doorknob was busted, leaving him trapped with walkers approaching. He was prepared to fight and drew his knife immediately. He hastily took out the three walkers that came through the door.  Without thinking, he sprinted through the new exit and out of the school. He now decided that resting was the worst possible plan and returned to his search.

Many months went by with no luck. Morgan had begun to lose faith in his never ending search. He concluded that he would never find his old friend again. Just as he stopped, a shot rang out through the air. He immediately dropped and started to scan the tree line. Once he realized it came from off in the distance, he got back up and headed towards the sound. After a few minutes, a large factory building stood in front of him with fire protruding from it. Thinking that his friends may be in trouble, he rushed down and over the gate to search. As he was checking out what had happened, he heard yelling behind him. As he turned, the only person he could clearly see was a man with a holstered .44 magnum, the same kind Rick had. He started for the fence, but was blocked off by a small horde of walkers. After taking a few minutes to deal with them, he mantled the obstacle and followed the footsteps.

When the shoe prints faded out, Morgan was shocked to see a small church in front of him. Instead of walking in unexpectedly and startling the group, he remained silent in the tree line. He observed that the members were fighting and that it was not the best time to intrude. He would remain on the outskirts of the group and stay hidden. This worked well until the day 'it' happened...

Humor/Satire Piece

This past summer, I traveled to Florida with two of my good friends. It was for my friend's birthday, so all the activities had been planned out. Many of the things we would be doing were new to me, so I was pretty excited to try them out. The most interesting one was definitely the Segway tour through important landmarks of Florida. I expected it to be informative, however, I thought the Segways would be lacking in speed. I was pleasantly surprised when we were told that they could reach speeds of 20 miles per hour. But before we could start riding around, we had to watch a 20 minute safety video on what not to do on a Segway. Ironically, I decided to do the exact opposite of what I was warned. After the first couple of minutes of driving, I was swerving and speeding along the sidewalk, narrowly missing signs and pedestrians. The closest I came to falling of was when I lost control and barely missed getting swept off the Segway by a tree branch. Halfway through the tour, a storm rolled in and we were forced to take shelter in a library for half an hour. Once the storm ended, we continued the tour. Even with the ground freshly soaked from the downpour, my driving was still as erratic as before. I would come close to being thrown off after drifting too much or driving too fast. I personally couldn't see how ridiculous I looked, but my friends' laughing made it clear. 

Peer Created Poem

The Nicole
ABAB Rhyme
17 lines
3 stanzas
about any living thing

Grazing in the field
Head down, eating the grass
No reason to yield
Time continuing to pass
Trees, blocking the sun like a shield
Silent like a normal school class

Running through the leaves and wood
Escaping the sound of a car
Not knowing if the intruder's intentions are good
But trying to get very far
Going as fast as it could
Away from the road and tar

Covered in thin brown hair
With a tail as white as snow
Never a spot that is bare
And antlers for show
The deer is an animal for which we should care

Haiku

1st draft

Breathing in and out

Feeling the ground underneath

Speeding by the others

2nd draft

Left foot after right

Speeding up, pain swelling up

Pushing till the end

Final

Inhale, stride, exhale

Feet flying through the terrain

Going for the best

Poem

Homework is the Worst

Homework is such a chore

It really is a complete bore

Sitting at home doing lots of math

Instead of being with friends, having a laugh

Homework is such a buzzkill

The act has no thrill

Can't have any sort of fun

Until the deed is done

Homework is such a pain

Always so dismal and plain

You must have no brain in your dome

If you enjoying taking school to your home