Sixty Acres by Raymond Carver

The protagonist Lee Waite in the short story "Sixty Acres" by Raymond Carver is faced with making two important decisions, leasing his settlement or not. Lee Waite was offered a thousand dollars to lease his land, but he is confused and contemplating what he wants to do. He is unsure and believes its better to not lease his land even though it will still be his.

These decisions that Lee Waite has to make express his emotions by showing his brave side while another decision represents his fearful cautious side. By leasing his land, Lee Waite shows how he wants to take a risk and how his curiosity comes into play, but by Lee Waite not leasing his land it shows his protective and cautious side because he could not want to leave his land or let any damage happen to it. The biggest decision I have ever made was deciding in fourth grade if I wanted to transfer schools. At my old school, I was faced with picking between staying where I was or leaving to come to Laguna. At the time it was very hard for me because I had been in the same environment for about five years and leaving really terrified me as a fourth grader. I decided that a change was good even when I felt like I was making a wrong decision.

What Would Go into My Time Capsule?

The first thing I would put into my capsule is many pictures of the family vacations I went on with my family. While I was younger, traveling around California would be a very fun tradition that would make our family closer. 
The second thing I would put into my time capsule is my fourth grade graduation paper. My elementary school was a memorable and exceptional time of my life. 
The third thing I would put would be a small dove ornament that is always hung on our Christmas tree. This dove has been passed down through many family generations is significant and special to our family.    
The fourth and final thing I would put to remember myself would be the CD for Kidz Bop 2. Me and my sister when we were really young would rock out to it on the daily. 
My capsule would be made out of a box covered in the many flags of my nationalities. 

Child of the West

Hello Everybody. I tend to identify myself as a child of the west. Even though I am in love with large
cities, I am in love with small tranquil areas. When I think about the west, I imagine a place surrounded with beaches and mountains. I imagine a happy and calm, serene place. My entire life I have grown up loving the west coast and living alongside it. I have always loved being surrounded by beaches and mountains and I could not imagine not living by the west. The west coast, specifically Santa Barbara, tend to not have big cities. As much as I love beaches, I love large areas with huge buildings and crowds. I would however prefer to be somewhere calmer and more at ease like the west.

Kristen's Great Unique Mask

My identity mask represents my personality from being over-dramatic to shy and timid.
On the front of my mask, the first thing that stands out is three white flowers. This shows my kind and lovable side. I find flowers to tend to be a happy and joyful which is a trait that I express. To my friends and family I am always in a positive mood trying to lighten up other people. Other items on my mask are, two gold bars and two white feathers. I find this to show my dramatic and sassy side. Feathers have always been very bold and outgoing which I can say I am as well. I always love to explore new places and be adventurous and sometimes risk-taking.  On my mask I also have white pearls half outlining around my eyes. I can say this also related to my dramatic side, but also my peaceful side. Pearls are very calming and relaxing which sometimes I can be. I only did half of my eyes to represent I am not always peaceful. Scattered around my mask are clear gems. I believe this shows my side of optimism and hopefulness. When I thought about how hopeful I usually am, the first thing that came to mind was some type of shiny jewel. I am hopeful with a lot of things like when it comes to setting goals for myself or setting expectations for my future.
As much as I am happy and compassionate, I am also fearful and extremely sensitive.

On the back of my identity mask, there isn't a lot. Mostly because what I show on the outside is usually the same on the inside. Except most of the time I hide my unhappy feelings. There are different colored beads however outlining the mask which shows my creative side. I tend to keep my creative ideas to myself instead of spreading them around so I chose to show that through a bigger idea by adding more beads to the back. There are also two flowers hidden. This show my sensitiveness and shyness. When I am introduced to new things I tend to be pre cautious and extremely shy. I am also really sensitive not just around new things but my friends and family as well. I have always been extremely scared of a lot of things and not been able to take terrible situations very well. I chose to use flowers to be hidden because once you get to know me however I am very compassionate and very nice.

Identity Legacy

Hello everybody! In the future, when I have great grandchildren I would want them to look back on significant traits that reflect me  75 years from now, I would want my great grandchildren to remember my creativeness. I would want them to regenerate and live off of being creative. With creativeness they can be artistic and inspiring which defiantly reflects a part of my personality.


I would also want my great grandchildren to remember my independence. I would want them to be independent and live there own lives and not live off of others. I really like to be independent, but I also love to surround myself in people. I believe independence is a very important trait that should be a part of my grand children.

Kristen's Unexplainable Self Recipe

1 cup creativeness

2 cups happiness

1/2 teaspoon of peace

3/4 cup of fear

3 ounces of optimism

3/4 tablespoon of caution

5 ounces of kindness

2 3/4 cup of sensitivity

2 ounces of compassion

3 tablespoons of consideration

1.  preheat oven to 375°
2.  pour in a large bowl 2 ounces of compassion
3.  slowly add in 2 cups of happiness
4.  in a separate smaller bowl, add 3/4 tablespoon of caution
5.  in small bowl, add 3 ounces of optimism followed by 1 cup of creativeness
6.  in larger bowl add 2 3/4 cup of sensitivity and 1/2 teaspoon of peace
7.  slowly mix large bowl and small bowl separately
8.  while still mixing large bowl, add smaller bowl to combine
9.  follow by 3/4 cup of fear, 5 ounces of kindness
10. pour mixture into small baking tray and place in oven for 10-15 min
11. take out of oven, let cool, and add 3 tablespoons of consideration on top

The Party

In "The Party"by Herman Wouk, the protagonist Herbie is on a quest to find love. Herbie is extremely self-conscious, but finds a way to style himself differently every day changing either his hair or his tie. Herbie has fallen in love with a girl named Lucille and always tries to impress her in some sort of way. Lucille invites Herbie to a party at her house and he takes this opportunity to make Lucille like him back. Herbie and Lucille go out to her garden and talk, but its ends up very bad when Lucille goes off laughing and Herbie grows sad. After awhile, Herbie finds bravery to ask Lucille to dance but she already found another boy to dance with.

I think the most difficult situation that Herbie is in, is how he had to find enough courage to go up and talk to his crush and ask her to dance with him. It is so hard because going up to your crush can be extremely scaring and risk taking. Herbie didn't know what could happen if Lucille liked him back or not. If I was in Herbie's position I defiantly would not have acted the way he did. I would have been scared and probably not gone up to her at all because like Herbie I would be terrified if that person didn't like me back.