43 Describe taking a standarized test to assess mental health

This is a weird blog topic. I can't say that i've ever taken a standarized test to assess mental health. The thing about standarized tests is that they are supposed to tell what a student knows compared to what everyone in the nation should collectively know. It's based on a nation wide scale, not on the students personal learning experiences. If a test was created to test mental health, it could very well determine that everyone in the nation was mildly crazy. I don't think there is a 'standard' for mental health becasue everyone is different. Also, i don't really think there is a particular state of health that everyone should be in either. Everyone has their own inner demons that they have to deal with every single day. Who knows? Sally might be the most down to earth person you'd ever meet, but underneath, she could be suffering from terrible grief or terrible anxiety. Everyone is different--seriously. Also, i don't even know if there is a particular way to determine someone's mental health. What is the standard? Of cource if you constantly talk to yourself or act crazy all the time then it's natural to assume you're crazy. But how do you measure sanity? I believe i am correct in saying that no one is compltely sane. what is the average reaction to an expereince? Everyone reacts a different way. Also, people have been through different experiences. One person might have gone through a rough childhood, so if someone is yelling at them or putting them under pressure, they might act stiff and unresponsive as instict. Another person might freak out and get really upset. Those are two different responses, both depending on the person's background. If we had a standarized test for mental healthy, we would all be insane. I can already say that i have my own issues. Everyone has their own inner fears. They can try to hide it, but it's there. SOme peopel might not even know they have a problem....

Journal 42

Once there was a hero named Finn the human who lived in the land of Ooo with is best friend Jake the dog. Finn and Jake were the perfect team, and both of them spent their days saving the whimsical characters of Ooo. They were always together, and all  the people in the land of Ooo agreed unanimously that they were the most noble creatures in the entire world. They always tried to do right for people, but sometimes, because they were as close as brothers, they let their emotions get in the way and ended up doing the right things for the wrong reasons.
One day in the land of Ooo, Finn and Jake were going through one of their daily rituals: fighting off the ice king. Though they both knew the Ice king was harmless at most times and his only real weapon was his malice and fighting spirit, they tried to be noble and fight him like they would anyone else.
Finn and Jake were the best at fighting becasue they practiced hard everyday in order to protect the people of Ooo. They were confident in their abilities, and they worked together to fight the Ice King away from the villiage he was tormenting. Their confidence in themselves and their underestimation of the Ice King was their mistake. While chatting in between spars, Jake barely noticed the Ice King drag his body along the ground, and barely felt it when his long spiderly hands grabbed his ankles. He was frozen into a solid block before he could even blink.
"NO!" Finn screamed. He did not plan on killing or imprisoning the ice king for his annoyance to the town, only to wear him out with embarrasement and give him a stern talkng to. But he never thought the Ice King was as serious enough to do somethign such as this.
So Finn vowed to fight the ice king. No longer was he fighting to save the people (though they would benefit) but to fight out of revenge for Ice King hurting his friend.

Journal 41

To me, a hero is someone who does something noble. Someone who does something and makes a difference in people's lives. It ddoesn't have to be a person with any superhuman powers, or someone that people recognize or even notice. Just a regular person who does something honorable. To me, my grandfather Thomas Tyler is a hero. He was never rich, never well-known outside the small town he lived in, and never won any awards for greatness or anything of the sort. But to his clients and friends in Pekin, Illinois, Tom Tyler was a dear friend and someone who changed other people's lives. My grandfather was a barber. Though he's retired, his clients still can recall his hospitatlity, and the comfort they got when entering my grandpa's barber shop. One roomed but for a small bathroom and office, his work station was very humble--but it still seems so vivid in my mind. My Grandpa is one of the most optimistic, most uplifting, and most comforting people i know, and he made people feel better just by chatting with them while giving a short haircut. He'd tell jokes, he'd laugh, he'd catch up with his clients and talk to them of their life. He cheered them up when they were weary, and he picked them up when they were down.His shop matched his personality: Wide open windows, looking at passerby's gently and invivting; walls adorned with funny posters and jokes that got a laugh out of everyone who entered; and though they were old, the barber chairs were worn and smoothed by the family and friends who had gathered there. He never made much money. Supporting a family of 8 on the salary of a barber didn't make you rich. And yet he still continued to go to work everyday with a smile on his face in order to cheer up the clients that walked in. He never started any revolution, never saved someone from drowning, never won any prizes or awards. And yet......he made people feel better. Feel welcomed. Feel wanted. Feel needed. He was a hero of the spirit. By just talking with him, he could save someone from a bad mood and a bad day. He gave people someone to talk to when they needed it. Someone to complain to when they needed to vent. And someone to listen to when they didn't want to talk at all. He was and is a hero in my mind because he made a difference.

Journal 40

Last night I  finished this book called Legend. What can I say about Legend......you could definitely tell it was the author's first book. I was not very  impressed. First of all, the plot was not very original at all. It was pretty much  The Hunger Games combined with Les Miserables combined with a cheesy romance.  Put those three together, and you get legend.  Now, i will admit, to one who hasn't read a wide variety of books like i have, the book would have been really good. The writing was simple and not very descriptive, and i can see how somone who is used to reading teen novels could enjoy it. As for me, I look for a lot more in a book than just the plot. I didn't feel like the book was descriptive enough. The story was told in two different first person points of view, which should have gave the author a good upper hand......but she didn't use it! For example, one of the main characters, Day, apparently lives on the streets and slums. That should have given the author a great opportunity to used descriptive words--to SHOW the reader the desperate living conditions of the character. She didn't do that hardly at all. That's like saying "He lived in a slum." instead of saying "He lived in s slum, and each lungful of air he breathed in was swarming with putrid fog, the poor lined the streets, their clothes tatterd and ripped, as the sun beat down on their bare backs, as flies buzzed around them in hordes of  " etc. etc. description. Seriously. I was sorely dissapointed. She described how each character dressed down to a tee, but didn't bother to thouroughly describe settings. What the heck? I have a good imagination, thank god, but if i didn't i would have had a terrible time trying to imagine what was happening. Another issue was the characters. She went from one to the other waaaay too fast, barely allowing readers to get to even know them. Day, for example, was like a stranger to me throughout the entire book. His character didn't seem very developed. The only strong characteristic she made sure readers understood was that he cared about his family. That was it. I would have liked to know what makes him tick, why he does what he does, how he feel's about what's happening to him, etc. etc. I wanted that so bad and i never got that from this book. I was dissapointed. I mean, it was okay. Exept for the plot seemed like something regurgitated from something else then tweaked a little bit. I kind of felt like i wasted my time.

Journal 39

Spring break. My spring break can in one word be described as a 'break'. It really did feel like i got a great break from school and from stress, and i found it very relaxing (most of the time). My family didn't go anywhere, and i pretty much spent the majority of my time chilling at home and watching my little sisters. Of course they fought a lot, and that was stressfull, but once they settled down everything was really good. Another highlight of my springbreak was that muni practices for the musical Les Miserables began! Monday night from 6:30 to 9:30 was our very first practice and we got to meet the entire cast of the Muni's Les Mis production. It was AMAZING!!!!! We all sang through a couple songs and from the very start i could tell that this production is going to be FANTASTIC. Literally everyone in the cast has a wonderful voice, and the actors are phenominal. It's going to be one of the best shows the Muni will ever produce. I had practice for the rest of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and we were off for the weekend. The practices pretty much consist of learning the music scene by scene then blocking the scenes out and plannning how the scene will look to the audience. My favorite scene to watch being blocked was the prolougue scene where the chain gang sings "Look Down". At first everyone wa really goofy and having fun, but once the director announced that they were going to run it for real, everyone got reallly serious and put on their acting faces.It was great. Just plain great. The man who is to play Jean Valjean has a wonderful voice too, and i really enjoyed watching him work through his scenes witht the director. The next night we did the same thing (exept i was more involved). We learned the song At The End of the Day and then the director blocked it out and we did what he called 'roughing it' where we loosely ran through it to get a good visual. The rest of the week was like that, and each night was amazing. The music was just incredible, and we sounded like the soundtrack off of a movie. I've never been involved in a choir/cast this good, and i think that this experience is going to be awesome.