Pride and Prejudice

I finished! I loved Pride and Prejudice! It was really good. It was nice to have seen the movie before reading the book, and I was surprised how similar the book and the movie actually were. Some lines were identical. However one part that I wished that they had left the same was when Elizabeth is visiting Pemberly and Mr. Darcy comes out and walks with them. My question during reading this book was who is prideful and who is prejudiced? Then I realized that it's a little bit of both.
Elizabeth is prejudiced because Mr. Darcy seems so prideful. She's convinced that Mr. Wickham is right because it pleases her vanity to believe so and that is where her pride lays- in her vanity.
Mr. Darcy is prejudiced because it is how he has been raised, to believe that his family and rank is so highly superior to others, that no other station could possibly be as pleasing and that no other type of woman could be accomplished enough for him. This is also where his pride lays is in his station.
I love how when you read books, more than movies, how your senses of the characters are heightened. Mr. Wickham seemed much more despicable after his flight and his fear of Mr. Darcy was brought out so much more. Mr. Darcy was so much better in the book, and Elizabeth's character was more lively and spirited. Lydia and Mrs. Bennet were all the more annoying. Altogether I really enjoyed it!

Picture- Click it to enlarge and it looks better

A poem...

Will You Ride With Me?



Will you ride,
ride with me
against a foreign sky?
And paint the trees a distant gold
and watch the leaves take flight.

Explore the edges of mankind
and caress the dreamers realm,
will you ride, can you ride,
dare you ride with me?

We'll touch the evening stars one by one,
and travel on the crying wind,
Say “adieu” to the waving prairie grass
which crying says, "Let me ride with you."

Oh how great your reward will be if you simply come with me.
The takers are few and the finishers nigh,
but oh what wonders will you see if you cast your fears aside.

We'll listen to the rustic cries of man and wolf alike
that take ones' heart caught with fright
captive to a distant land.

Together we can touch the sky, and kiss the waning moon
Cross the deserts sand and ice and never feel the bite.
The race is on, the distance far,
so, will you ride, can you ride, dare you ride with me?

The Red Pyramid and Haddix

Best Selling author Rick Riordan brings to life another magical tale in The Red Pyramid, the dazzling story of two siblings. Sadie and Carter Kane have been living in two different worlds after being separated due to their mothers untimely death. They are brought together on a visiting day, one out of two given every year. But this one is different. Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane (their father) has been acting very strangely and Carter and Sadie can tell they're being followed on their way to a museum. And all to soon their lives take a sudden turn as they fight to survive by learning the ways of Egyptian Magicians and the Gods. Can they find their father again after his dangerous disappearance ? Is there a way to bring there mother back? Or will they even be able to save North America from the Gods? Come read The Red Pyramid and discover a world beyond our own.

I really liked this book. I wasn't to sure if this series could ever be as good as Percy Jackson is but they are definitely off in the right direction. I am so excited for the next one to come out!


Haddix, a book written by seasoned author Margaret Peterson- is a book that can take you both to the future and to the past as you find out the mystery behind two boys adoption and the secrets behind them.
Jonah Skidmore is just an average everyday 7th grader, the only difference is that he is adopted. But his overly cautious parents have taken every step they can to make him feel no different. That is until the letters start arriving, and not just to him but to his best friend Chip too. Determined to find their true identities Chip and Jonah open a world filled with time travel and mysterious disappearances, but they naturally couldn't have done this without the help of Jonah's little sister Katherine. So come join the three in an adventurous beginning of a tale, soon to continue.

I thought this book was really good. There was nothing phenomenal, but it was very pleasant to read, and I definitely wouldn't mind reading the other books in this series, or other books written by this author.

Post Note on Dancing in the Rain

So there was some stuff that I forgot mention in my first post about foot surgery. One thing was that throughout 7th grade I went to physical therapy. It was really nice...mostly. First they would fill up a little tub with warm water. I then stuck my feet in it, they plugged it in, and “voilia” a small hot tub for my feet. And while my feet soaked I got to sit there and read. That was one of the best parts. Among many things I had to stretch my foot using therabands tied to a bed. One of those broke on me one time... I had to stand on one foot and bounce a ball on a small trampoline and catch it when it bounced back to me. They’d put a cream on my foot and rub it in to do an ultrasound- which is a way to make your muscles relax. For sports and such you usually warm your feet up by moving them in circles, (this movement comes from your ankles) this is something I really had to work hard on because I couldn't do it. Before I'd leave they would wrap my feet in ice and put sticky things on me that would shock my feet. This hurt when it got really strong and it was like I lost control of the muscles in my feet (they twitched even if I was trying to make them stop). The machine is called an electrical muscle stimulation machine.
Then came ballroom and high heels, need I say more. It got to a point where we had to get arch supports because my ankles weren't strong enough to walk right (I would walk pigeon-toed or on the outside of my foot). We had to get new shoes eventually because I'd worn out the outside of the heel but not the inside. Long story short- I got corrected and was able to perform a lot and also got to be in the schools’ talent show. Yay!

Dancing in the Rain- One step at a time

Dance has always been one of my biggest lifelines, perhaps even my biggest. I have been dancing around 8 years (ish) if not more. I quit gymnastics so I could do what my big sister was doing and I have been at Clytie Adams since. Dancing is a way for me to let go. I may start out angry and upset but by the end of class I'm so happy (Most of the time) and have forgotten what had gone wrong that day. I also became best friends Clytie Su because of ballet (and school), got my pen pal and have so many other friends because of it. I started learning line dances in 3rd grade and in 6th grade I was doing multiple partner dances, my favorite being the swing with full lifts and stunts. My partner and I were able to win the 6th grade swing competition that year…yay! (Hey, it’s a lot bigger than it sounds) We were also in all the auditioned coupled dances, and all this time I was still doing ballet and had started modern dance.

Then the boulder hit. I learned that I would need to get foot surgery for my flat feet. It was either that, wear arch supports 80% of the rest of my life, or be in a wheel chair by the time I was 50- 60. (Especially where I’m bull-legged) And so it happened. I got the surgery and for a month I could not run or jump. I couldn’t go swimming or to the beach because the water would get into my stitches. I remember the night of my surgery I had had enough medications I could walk up the stairs. The next morning I woke up before my mom got home from her walk (the medication made me wake up early). I put my boots on and took one step and fell down in agony. I couldn't even crawl without it hurting and I had to wait for my mother to get home to carry back into my bedroom. Time passed and fortunately I was told I was making more progress than any other patient that doctor had ever had. But then, I had to go get my first pair of point shoes. My feet were swollen and so they placed me in the wrong brand of shoe, making my life miserable for me and I’m sure my teacher. I hated dance, it was horrible, I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to quit. I was also sick of my feet hurting when the weather was bad, or by just walking. I was still walking pigeon-toed. Luckily my father had given me a blessing and my family was there to support me.

So in 7th grade I auditioned for the Davis County Ballroom Team and made it on to the 8th grade team. It was lots of fun and I even got to do an improved performance one night. I was able to make Nutcracker, even though from off stage my mother could see me dancing pigeon toed and on the outside of my foot. By 8th grade I got placed into the right brand of point shoe. I quit DCB team and went to a smaller one for half of the year. I was able to run, and slowly the pigeon toe went away. I got to perform on point shoes for my recital dance and did very well.

Welcome to 9th grade. I have ballet three times a week, modern and jazz once a week, and Nutcracker once a week. This is my seventh year in Nutcracker (the maximum that you can do at my age.)I love running and other sports and my feet rarely bother me. I am still bull-legged which makes life hard in the dance world…but it’s fun to be different I guess! My feet are strong and after a couple weeks, we finally found the perfect way for me to wear my point shoes. If you watch me walk I walk on the outside of my foot (come tell me if you see me doing it so I can fix it!) and I still stand pigeon toed some times (again if you see me doing this come tell me). I have a teacher who is helping my with any hip and turn-out problems I may have. One thing she said has helped me so much to conquer this challenge.
“She is strong. She has the mental capability to learn combination's so fast that I didn’t know it was humanly possible. She is able to do things others can’t and has such a gorgeous upper body and arms, and can feel the music. I love to watch her dance. She is gorgeous.”

DHS Marching Band- How can I write so little about so much?!

This picture didn't work to wonderfully. I didn't want to use flash.


So, I know that when I talk about being in the Davis High Marching Band some of your eyes glaze over or you get really confused… so I’m going to try to clear some of that up.

I got the option to go into Davis’ marching band a year earlier than most people, so excitedly I took it. It was scary and confusing at first, but I grew to the point where it became the highlight of my summer.

The first thing you learn how to do is come to “set” or “attention”. So, to come to attention someone with authority claps 4 times and yells “Band A-ten-hut” then you put your hands clasped together in front of you, your eyes above them, heels together and toes apart. Then you yell back “DHS”
“Band Ten-hut”
“Pride”
“Band Ten-hut”
“Pride”
“Band A-ten-hut”
“DHS”
(The goal is to “feel the pride inside”, so you yell this as loud as possible.)

You learn how to march- glide step, and then you put in blocks, pods and lines. You learn to turn corners properly (my favorite!), how to march in a box (ex. Forward eight, right eight, back eight, left eight), slides- this is how you march to the sides- you twist so your body stays forwards and your other half goes to the side your going ;back march- Marching backwards on your toes; About face- turning, etc. Here you also learn Medusa (Most of this is learned in a gigantic “basics block”). This is when you’re in set and people come up to and try to get you to look at them or crack a smile, or lose your perfect position.

Going into the band I knew one thing already- “Celebrate”. When you celebrate you do push-ups for doing something wrong or off task. So, when we do practice parade routes in the mornings after we play a song you’ll see people come flying out to the sides, do push-ups or crunches and then charge back in. Occasionally you can see whole sections suddenly pop out.

During all this you learn this is not Mr. Hendricks’ band, Ricky’s, Becca’s or any of the leaders. It’s not James’or Travis'. It’s ours. And by choosing to poorly reflect it by not practicing or memorizing your music, or goofing off, you hurt everyone. The choice is yours.

Sectionals are a fun way and common way to spend the three hour practice time. They can get old doing it every day, but usually they are tons of fun. You work on your music, practice marching, dodge the trombone section that’s trying to kill you, etc. The best thing about marching band was they really didn’t about your outfit (you were wearing shorts, t-shirts, and sunglasses most of the time), and it wasn’t about who could play the instrument. Everyone was nice to everyone and anyone. It was like being in your favorite subject with 20 of your best friends.

Basically the first hour was spent on music. Then second on sectionals, pods, and passing music off. And the third hour was spent in basic blocks and

Parades are another fun thing. (I only marched parade season- summer band). We played “Dear Old Davis High”, “When the Darts”, “Joy to the World”- no not the Christmas song and “Anyway You Want It”. The thing that makes parades so great in my book is calls. Calls are things you do that spice things up. An example is called Hang Loose- the whole band does this one- you spell out Davis Darts, etc. and then the whole band gets to break formation and do whatever they want to do, run around, brush hair out of their face (this is the only time your allowed to touch your face, break set (while not playing your instrument, or trail position), whatever and then they all come back in and start marching at the exact same time. Other calls include- Sexy or Manly trail, Bust a Move- My favorite, Sprinkler, Smile and Wave and so on.

After parade season comes field show which I didn’t do because I’m only a ninth grader. It’s slightly insane to memorize around ten minutes of music and be able to march exactly where you were placed, stay in line, etc. One part of the show went 180 beats per measure too! I went to Davis Cup, and really enjoyed. Each of the schools’ bands represented them so well! The Drum Majors’ salute was incredible and the band was amazing! Mr. Hendricks’ face was glowing when they walked off.(I am sure the Hendrickses are glad that it is over, even though there are still many competitions to come). Davis High took second place! The band should be so proud of all of its accomplishments.

At the end of all rehearsals you go to parade rest. You step into a wider stance with your left foot and put your instruments in both hands with your arms in front of you. They then say “Feel the Pride inside.” And you make a snake like sound, and then they call you to attention (read above to find what you do) and then-
(Question) (Response)
Heels- Together
Toes- Apart
Stomachs- In
Chest- Out
Shoulders- Back
Head- Up
Eyes- With pride!!! Eyes- With Pride!!!
Who’s got the best band? - DHS
Do you believe it? - Yes sir! (Repeat)
Band dismissed- Davis!!!

I could still write so much more, that’s simply just a small sample of what it’s like to be able to be part of a legend.