Taut : adj, pulled or drawn tight
Source Sentence - ". . . Martha was bent horizontal to the floor, reaching, the palms of her hands in sharp focus, the tongue taut, the expression frank and competitive." page 4
Context Clue - Example, in the sentence it explains how Martha had her face so it gave me the idea that taut had something to do with face expressions
Original Sentence - When I was in 8th grade I was in the swim team and I awaited my race to start I was on my game mode so I so focused that my taut lips gave the others that I was serious


Tangible : adj, perceptible by the senses especially the sense of touch
Source Sentence - "these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight." page 20
Context Clue - Example, since I had no idea what it meant I read ahead so I got clues that hinted on things you could touch
Original Sentence - the tangible thing that I carried is my twilight book because it means a lot to me

Resignation : n, the act of giving up (a claim or office or possession etc.)
Source Sentence - "Some carried themselves with a sort of wistful resignation, others with pride or stiff soldierly discipline or good humor or macho zeal." page 19
Context Clue - Your logic, since I had to look this word up when I did a play in 6th grade I knew the word already
Original Sentence - I had to give my resignation to my avid teacher because I couldn't take it anymore

Confession of a teenage boy

Well to start this story I must tell where I grew up, I was born in Garden Grove and raised in Santa Ana. Santa Ana like changed me for the worse. I grew up being the good little boy, the nerd that got picked on for being in avid and having honor classes. Bad things happen to me the year I turned 13. I was changing for the worse I didn't talk to my mom about my problems anymore, I was turning to rebel. I knew it wasn't good but to survive in Santa Ana you need to be solid, you must not let them know you are afraid. no taut face no signs of weakness because if you show any they will eat you up. I had one good friend named Sergio but he moved my 6th year because his mom didn't want him to be exposed to the harsh people in the middle school known as Lathrop. If you even showed a book they would knocked it off your hands and laugh at you. I know because it happen to me when I was reading a goosebumps book my 6th grade year. I felt angry at the kid that did it to me but I believe in karma so I knew one day he get his. So I kept myself isolated my 6th grade year. I mustn't let them get to me. It go so bad that I started talking to my imaginary friend named Kevin (by the way he's next to me at the moment). People would pass by me in lunch and see me talking to myself, did I care, yeah a little but still I paid no attention to them. So fast forward to my 7th grade year I was already 13 so it was great I was now a total bad kid, and that bully from last year I got my revenge it was sweet but I didn't care what happen to him. (remember I'm just a kid) I did the whole bully stuff. I wanted those who made my 6th grade year bad, suffer as well. I got out of Avid and took normal classes. I got out of the science club, math club, and theater club. I had a whole posse that followed me where I went. I was now cool. So my 7th grade year went on and I kept causing chaos throughout the year. But little did I know my reign of terror was about to end. I moved to Anaheim my 8th grade year because my mom thought I would change, and change I did because I went to a whole new school where I didn't have to worry about being bullied. I could just be me but the first semester I had no friends because I kept to myself. I was back at square one (KARMA). I got into PAL and what I found out that I was in danger of being suicidal. Bad stuff went through my head, I wasn't strong enough to not do anything. I started to cut myself on my thighs and wrist. I would be the kid that would always wear long shirts and sweaters on hot days. this went on throughout my 10th grade year. My friend took me to a youth group named GRACE that changed my life. My godmother, Natalie changed me for the best because she was the good in me. She knew I had talent and gifts to offer so she invested time in me. I'm still changing for the best right now and trying not to go back to what I used to do

To do list: Must Do 1. Math homework 2. Beginning voice practice, "Amazing grace" 3. Blog post Could Do 1. Retreat meeting 2. beginning voice practice, "Ten minutes ago" 3. the things they carried reading Should Do 1. The block with Karen, Joanna, and Cory 2. Confirmation retreat 3. wash dogs

Topography - the configuration of a surface and the relations among its man-made and natural features
Source Sentence : "Depending on numerous factors, such as topography and psychology, the riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazines, usually in cloth bandoliers, adding on another 8.4 pounds at minimum, 14 pounds at maximum" page 5
Context Clue : example and your logic I read ahead to see what could give me a clue which was the word psychology and since psychology is the study of the human mind so leaving that topography had to be a study of something.
1 sentence explanation : In war, for soldiers it's important to have topography or map in order to know where they are going.

Profound - showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
Source Sentence : "The guy's dead, he kept saying, which seemed profound- the guy's dead. I mean really." page 12
Context Clue : Example, the way they used profound is that the guy saying the guy's dead actually put it in there head that no one could ignore
1 sentence explanation : one of the books that I think it's the most profound in my life is the Twilight series

volition - the act of making a choice
Source Sentence : "... one step and then the next and then another, but no volition, no will, because it was automatic, it was anatomy, and the war was ntirely a matter of posture and carriange, the hump was everything, a kind of intertia, a kind of emptiness, a dullness of desire and intellect and conscience and hope and human sensibility." page 14
Context Clue : example, The rest of the sentence gives the hint of the word's definiton the part "no will, because it was automatic. . ."
1 sentence explanation : When I read and listen to the same time it's no volition to me when I take notes on what I read about.

The Things I carry

Every morning on Sunday at 8:00am I wake up and get ready to go to my confirmation class at 9:00am. I must go and make sure that my students are getting the knowledge so they can get confirmed on June. Their spirits are one of the untangible things I must carry with me. I choose to teach them, and to this day I had never once had the feeling of regret. I remember two weeks before they left for winter break I suggested that they could have a secret Santa before they went on break and they agreed to the idea. We all (including me) wrote on a piece of paper what our favorite color was, favorite candy, what do we like, for example Starbucks, reading, shopping etc. Well I got my student named Kamille and one of my students named Rene got me. She wrote she wanted a Starbucks gift card and I wrote on mine anything twilight (since I'm a big twilight freak). The day that we had planned to do the secret Santa was they day I came with stomach flu so I couldn't go to class that day. I was feeling awful not just from the stomach ache but missing out on an event my students were looking forward and I had to stay home. A few days passed and I went to mass on December 24th. Who do I see there? I see Kamille, I give here the gift card because I had it in my wallet since the day I bought it. A few weeks passed and we all came back to class. What surprised me that Rene came up to me and gave me my present (which I was surprised he remembered) and I got the ultimate gift EVER. He gave me the last book I needed to complete my twilight collection, he gave me Breaking Dawn. that brought me exuberance. To this day I carry that book because when I carry it and something feels tedious I just stop what I am doing and bust out the book and start reading.