Junior Year English Journal #4

Composing a Literary Letter

Dear Mr. K.L.,

I know that since you have been living in an isolation chamber for your entire life with little human contact and minimal education in American History and the situation in modern America, however, I know for a fact that you have read excerpts from Letters From An American Farmer, which describe life in eighteenth century America. There are many key differences between the late 1700's and the present. Even though prejudice still exists among the population, slavery has been abolished. The aforementioned book of letters describes the average American as being a farmer. At present less than ten percent of America's population farms or raises cattle, mainly because of an Industrial revolution that occurred in the 1800's, making new technologies for agriculture, lessening labor needs such that the world had never seen before. One fact remains the same, America is still a culture melted together from other cultures. That is why, in my opinion, it is definitely preferable to live in the present. There may not be as much free space for all as in the eighteenth century, but the conveniences allowed by modern technology allow a standard of living that could not possibly be matched by what the past has to offer.

Sincerely,
J.P. Ceproyce

Junior Year English Journal #3

13 Virtues

The first virtue I would establish in myself would be honesty (1) because I consider not lying to be important to a healthy life, it reduces stress. Another virtue would be thoughtfulness (2), or thinking out my actions in anything before performing them. I also would want patience (3) so I would never be in too much of a hurry. Peace (4) would be good to have, it would allow me to remain calm under any duress. I definitely would want humility (5) because a person being humble is more and more rare these days and like Franklin said, it would be imitating Jesus. I would also like to be skillful (6) in whatever I choose to do as a career. Being clean (7) is another virtue of Franklin's I would use, I don't know that I would be able to survive anymore time than two weeks without a shower. Organization (8) is also a virtue that is important to me, since I am living in a hotel right now, it is important to remain organized so that I am efficient with my time, and being time efficient (9) is another virtue I value because in the 20th and 21st centuries, time is, and was, the most important resource. Making sure I abstain from gluttony (10) is another virtue that I really feel I need to make sure I do not become morbidly obese. Ensuring that I keep my promises (11) is another virtue that I value because it enables people to trust you more than they ordinarily would. I also find Franklin's virtue of frugality (12) to be important because it fits in with modern society's environmentally conscious mindset of not wasting anything nature provides. The final virtue I value is also one of Franklin's, it is justice (13), because I feel that being just to others and oneself is becoming more and more important as the number of people on this earth increases exponentially.

Junior Year English Journal #2

Do you have a vision of what you judge your life by? Negative or positive, and why?

I definitely have a vision that I judge my life by, and I believe it is surely a positive vision. The vision I have is one of my earliest memories of me playing with a soccer ball with my dog, Giggles, in my backyard when I was about three or four years old. It was a perfect day, not too hot, not too cold, and the Colorado sun was not shining too brightly. It became what I judge my life by because on that day I was perfectly happy kicking around a size four soccer ball while chasing my Tibetan Terrier back and forth. I remember that I really had no cares or significant worries about anything, even about what was for dinner that night. That's why whenever something happens to me that makes me happy I almost sub-consciously compare the new event to that joyful day of soccer and canine hijinx.