All Creatures Great and Small

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
Mohandas Ghandi said that, and I, animal-lover to the core, believe it whole-heartedly. I do, after all, have four dogs, and I truly believe my life is better for having them in it. Except when they poop in areas not designated as pooping areas. Like, in my closet for example. Ugh.

If I could, I would have goats, horses, a chicken or two and maybe a peacock to round it all out. Cats--well, they need love too and I have owned many in my lifetime, but I could probably go the rest of my life and not own another one. But, I find them exquisite to watch.

Now, in some cases, makes me a hypocrite because despite my aforementioned affinity for creatures of the four-legged variety, I am NOT a vegetarian. Barbecued chicken or steaks on the grill are way too good for me to pass up, and I NEVER met a burger I didn't like. However, I have been known to start fights with strangers at the dog park because of what I believed to be unnecessarily harsh treatment of their dogs, and I also think the punishments for animal cruelty should be higher than what they are currently. By a lot. Don't even get me started on Michael Vick. I lock my dogs in a safe place the second #7 jumps onscreen. Eww.

Now, onward and upward.
Do you have a pet?
What kind? What is his/her name?
How did you choose that name?
Do you believe that you can communicate with your pet or with animals in general?
Can they communicate with you? How do you know?
What is your take on the activists that spend hours campaigning for the rights of animals? Are they wasting their time frivolously when they could be helping human beings out there in the world?
Do animals even HAVE rights? Should they? Should there be a limit to what people do for them? If so, what is it? If not, where do you draw a line? (400 words/50pts)

Confucious Says: Words are the Voices of the Heart

Man, I love words.
Good thing I suppose, given my chosen and hard-fought-for occupation. Every time I sit down at a keyboard or have a pen poised over a blank sheet of paper, I feel overwhelmed with excitement, with possibility, with anticipation. With a few key strokes or swipes of a pen, you can find the right combination of words that can make someone LOVE you.
Conversely, you can break a heart, manipulate a mind or sever an allegiance…all with those same strokes or swipes. Think about that. Legends are immortalized because of words. Nations go to war over words. Couples are united in matrimony with words. Hearts and lives are shattered due to words. The power they wield is, in a word, awesome.

“Every time I come around the corner and see your car in the driveway I get sick to my stomach.”
I sat on the couch during yet another face-off with my mother when she let fly with that condemnation, effectively shattering any sense of comfort and belonging I may have been clinging to at the time. I was 17. I’m 38 now, and I can hear those words in my ear as clear as if they were uttered 10 minutes ago. I can’t say that it was those exact words that led to the eventual, unsurprising demise of my relationship with my mother, but I know it was certainly a huge chunk out of the already crumbling foundation. It stands, to this day, as one of the worst things anyone has ever said to me.

But, as I said, words are powerful. They can also have healing properties. Let me give you a scenario. I was visiting a friend at what is now, TCNJ (then it was Trenton State College). My boyfriend of about a year had just broken up with me, quite unceremoniously, at a party the night before. I was feeling kind of blue, just sort of moping around the campus waiting for my friend’s class to end. While aimlessly wandering through the bookstore, I saw an old friend from high school, a guy who graduated a year ahead of me. We got to talking about life after high school and what my plans were and all of that idle small talk, when he looked me right in the eye and said, “Well Cas, the thing is, I hear you’re an excellent writer.”
What followed is not a Cinderella-like ending of fairytale romance (this is me we’re talking about) between Matt Opacity (that was his name) and me,your English IV teacher. We didn’t fall into each other’s arms and swear undying love—it wasn’t even a romantic moment. He wasn’t trying out a brand-new pick-up line or even trying to soothe my bruised, dumped ego. It was a simple declaration that I am quite sure he would never even remember saying all these years later. But it’s impact on me was and is undeniable. Because of him, when I went back home, the first place I looked for a summer job was at a local newspaper called The Sandpaper. I landed a job as a stringer and at the tender age of 18, got my first ever piece of writing published. I even got paid for it! (It was an article on Tonkinese cats—don’t laugh!) Such is the power and the beauty of words.

So, that is the focus of this week’s blog question. I would like you to think about conversations you have had, arguments in which you’ve been embroiled, moments of bliss you have experienced. They all have one thing in common—WORDS.
The Yin: What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you? Why do you think it was the worst thing? How did it make you feel?

And for the Yang (because there always is one): What was the best compliment you have ever received?
Who said it? Why do you think was it was the best compliment?

And finally, perhaps even MOST IMPORTANTLY, reflect on the fact that you highlighted these two particular comments. What do you think your choices of what was the best and worst thing anyone could say about/to you reveal about your you and your personality? Much to think about, I know. Don’t delay!! (500 words/80pts)

Chapter One

Hello, Seniors!! Welcome to your class blog. This is a place we will all go every week to talk about some of the important issues we discussed in class, OR talk about something completely different but equally important.


Remember that once you post your comment, you become a published author so all of your writing should be the best it can be--no typos and no "text-speak" (lol, lmao, wtf etc). I take serious points off if you do it, so don't.  Your posts will have a SIGNIFICANT impact on your grade, so it is important that you take it seriously.  Two missed blogs in a marking period can lower you ONE FULL LETTER GRADE.

Each week, I will post a question--it will never be the type of question that asks something like: "who said what to who, when and where?" because, quite frankly...who cares??  I know I don't and I'm willing to bet you don't either.

It will be more along the lines of something that urges you to think deeply about yourself, about the world around you and about your place in it. For some of you this will be hard--you're private, you're shy, you don't want everyone all up in your bizzzz etc. Yeah, well--shut up and get over it.  It's here to stay, and once you start to get into it, those issues you had at first will all be gone. Trust me.

Are you ready? Here we go...



It is finally here--your SENIOR YEAR!! You have waited three very long years to get to this moment. But, before we move forward, let's look back a little bit. Allllllll the way back to when you were just a baby freshie. How were you different then? Includes differences in physical appearance, intelligence, emotions, opinions and ideas. What was the most important thing you learned about yourself during the course of your freshmen, sophomore and junior years?

Answer ALL questions as completely and with as much detail as you can. Failure to answer all of the questions will result in terrible things.Good Luck!

(300 words/25pts)