Signing Off

Sorry in advance for the emotional vomit on this blog post.

Dear Freshman Madie,

I was you. And even today I can remember every emotion that you felt when you left Magellan's safety and came into the unknown. Now I am a senior and I am suddenly in a whirlwind of end of year activities and exams, looking back and wondering where all the time went. I know you imagined yourself as a senior as someone so mature but when you get here you will still feel like the same girl that were every other year. I wish I could write to you and know with confidence that it gets easier but it doesn't. But I can confidently tell you that every challenge has turned you into the person you are today.

The biggest challenge you'll embark on is your decision to join the IB program ((best decision so far)). You will pretend that the workload is overwhelming but you know that had you properly managed your time you would have been fine. Your classes will offer you new insight and perspectives (so TOK) to situations and discussions will always be a highlight.  The papers will seem daunting but standing on the other side, you will know you are beyond prepared for college in the best way. And the whole time will be supported by the best teachers ever, who will (sometimes) understand your need to completely change the subject. But most importantly you will find the most genuine people to surround yourself with. They will easily become your best friends and will even more easily accept you for every weird obsession with Spotify, Twitter, and Chipotle, your stalkers, your emotional issues, and will eno with you at any possible second. At your times of need they will be the ones you call on. (Stud Club, thats you).

Knowing you, I'm sure your biggest worry is what is happening in the future. Did you get into the college you wanted? What are you gonna major in? But small freshman Madie I challenge you to forget about those college applications and stop worrying so much about the future because the things you whole heartedly enjoy are so much more valuable then one small check box on a college application.

Good luck as you move through the rest of high school but don't worry I'm pretty sure it'll turn out alright.

Madie Fleishman
Senior 2015

P.S. Don't forget to thank all of your teachers for being awesome and especially Ms. Genesky for making you do all these blog posts because you actually enjoyed them.

Whitman's Wits

I opened the diaries expecting to find detailed notes and insight into Whitman's mind. Instead I found a bunch of various lines on a page that were at some point meant to be letters. However from the various pages I made a couple observations. First, in spite of his deliberate structure of his poems, his journals contain no structure and often has last minute cancelations or additions. Of the words I could decode I found the reoccurring theme of ships interesting. Ships and the idea of winds pushing them, alludes to a theme of change which in the time of the Civil War did offer insight into what Whitman was dealing with in the times of his publication. Also I noticed the phrase, "Ship of Libertad" and thought it was interesting associating ships and change with liberty. I think the most interesting part of the journals were the sketches on the back pages. My original thought led me to believe that the sketches were they were self portraits with an influence from Abraham Lincoln as seen by the hat in a majority of the sketches. 

But the good news is someone else can actually read Whitman's writing. What stood out to be the most was Whitman's thoughts on religion that I had not noticed before. In the journal Whitman writes, "two religions -  platforms". He goes on to describe the first religious platform as being one of philosophy and reason and the second platform being belief in an "unseen soul". Whitman puts forward a third, from my understanding, that incorporates both platforms. I think this is the most insightful entry in this journal. Knowing background into Whitman's liberal thoughts and lifestyle I think it says a lot that he finds religion to be such an important part of his life. And I tend to agree with his ideas that religion should be more than just a belief in a higher power but an internal discovery (whoa, deep stuff). The Civil War poems were interesting as well but most fascinating was the poem which finished with "and you" as if he was talking directly to Lincoln and pushing him into a class with royalty. 

While Americans are Sleeping...

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”

When I think of the American Dream, I think back to everything that this country was founded on. Being a huge fan of the constitution  I have come to agree with the ideals that the real American dream is the ability for a person of any background to find happiness and prosperity. As we move towards equality of all races, socioeconomic classes, and sexuality, each person can finally work to prove their own future. 

2. What is your definition of wealth?

Wealth to me can be defined by the classic definition; as the amount of material goods you own and the monetary value of what you are worth. As much as I wish I could say that I see wealth as an emotional thing like being happy but in this case I tend to agree that "money does buy happiness". However wealth becomes meaningless without love and friendship to share it with. 

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

Americans value wealth more than almost any country. As seen from the amount of material items that we own and obsess over, Americans highly regard wealth as a high social standing. Easily distinguishing the rich from the poor are the name brands and expensive technology that we flaunt about. I can't count the number of times where I look back and realize how lucky I am. While I am no where close being extremely wealthy, I still will never know the meaning of poverty. Poverty is always a motivating factor that keeps me pursuing every extra opportunity I am given and too push a little harder to move to the next needed step in my life. I think one of the biggest issues in America is the cycle that keeps poverty and wealth so secluded from one another. And overall the biggest American Dream is to break from this cycle and find not only material wealth but emotional acceptance and fulfillment through working hard and enjoying freedoms given by the United States.

Get the title? Sleeping... Dream....lol

Freebie!!!

Because I transferred schools! (((jk just visiting)))

The Handmaid's Fail

The Handmaid's Fail: the story of when your practice IOC doesn't go as planned

Beware: many pauses, laughs, and gulps ahead! ***emailed tho***

Grading: 

Criterion A: 5

I gave myself a five because I was able to place the passage in the context of the text and provide adequate supporting details. I believed I struggled to reference the text in terms of summarization. 

Criterion B: 7 

I gave myself a seven because I believed I thoroughly explained each literary device discussed's purpose for the passage and I attempted to understand the effects on the reader. 

Criterion C: 3 

I gave myself a three because the structure should have been generally coherent. I understood the structure to be context and then analysis and I hope that it is portrayed that way.

Criterion D: 2 

I gave myself a two because of the pauses and laughs and rambling... It was difficult to listen to myself and somewhat hard to follow.

This is the planning!

Life in the Digital Now

In this TED talk by Abha Dawesar argues that the use of technology disrupts our flow of time.  She used the comparison of life to a story. She, as a novelist, views our life with two divisions of time, stories and life as: "a long arc of time that is our lifespan, and the timeframe of direct experience that is the moment." Eventually she describes the impact that technology has had on our interpretation of of the smallest moments of our lives. Technology forces us to live in a world that is a few seconds ahead, in a world where we are constantly more concerned with refreshing a twitter feed than life around us. Her next point was the fact that technology distracts us from the true present time period around us. Overall, her talk aims to encourage people to step away from technology to see how it affects their own digital present and into the true present. 

Dawesar's argument is effective through her use of logos and pathos. Her examples of technology during Hurricane Sandy and experiences of life before technology offer backing to the idea that technology is taking over our lives by allowing us to step back and logically look at how much we miss when looking at technology. Her only obvious bias that might impair the quality of her argument might be the fact that she is a middle age woman. In her lifetime she has the ability to remember a time before such prevalent technology where as a high school student who has grown up surrounded and learning from technology may have a differing opinion.  Despite this her argument remains sound.  She attempts to add pathos by including stories of her family that appeal to people's emotions. Using phrases like "flow of love" she connects technology to typically emotional ideas like love and family.

I chose this talk because it was most relevant to my life. Technology controls everything I do. Even sitting here, I am currently texting, watching Netflix, and listening to a TED talk. How is that possible? Its not. As Dawesar said technology gives us "the sensation that time's arrow is pointing everywhere and nowhere at once". I can use technology to do everything and nothing all at once. Before this TED Talk I considered this a good thing, technology opened a world of relaxation and mindless activity, but from this I have learned that technology has changed more than that. I am now look at technology like a change to my natural way of time. It interrupts my ability to enjoy the world happening all around me. What makes us human is the fact that we seek advancement. Technology has become prominent in our lives because of this advancement. I believe that though all the negatives mentioned technology provides an advancement in society that is greater.

Who's the Hero?

In the movie, Double Indemnity, few characters, if any, prove themselves to be a stereotypical hero that fights for good. In fact almost every character has an alternative motive to pursue the truth. 


My personal definition of a hero comes from years of watching sappy movies and reading classic children's books. I believe a hero is someone that above all fights for the good and wellbeing of others. When thinking of a character that fits this definition only one character comes to mind, Barton Keyes. Barton Keyes works along side Walter Neff at the insurance company. Keyes was the only character who questioned the motives of the others and worked to uncover the mystery. Without Keyes this story would be a story of a couple getting away with murder. However with Keyes in the picture, there is a force for good who complicates things. This is why I believe Keyes is the hero of the story, he gives contrast and, just like my storybook definition, fights for the good of others. On the other hand Keyes doesn't necessarily look for the killers for all the right reasons. Because he works at the insurance company, if he hadn't found the murders, the company would have been forced to pay a huge sum to Phyllis Dietrichson. This bias adds a negativity to his title as the story's hero.


A dictionary.com definition of the word hero says, "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deedsand noble qualities". In some ways you can argue that Walter Neff fits this certain definition. To fool the insurance system Neff created an elaborate plan to murder Phyllis's husband, by this standard Walter is "a man of distinguished courage or ability". He was able to use his intelligence and with a ton of courage he was able to create a seemingly fool proof plan for murder. I believe he also fits the second half of this definition. Even thought he was committing an evil act, I admire him for doing it for a noble purpose. I think that he really did believe Phyllis loved him and more than he believed she was unhappy in her marriage and the death of her husband would free her from an unfortunate marriage. With this in mind I believe the Walter clearly fits this definition of a hero, even if he was committing a evil deed. 

I believe that the movie, Double Indemnity, does have heroes. While none of them are completely free of evil, Walter and Keyes both fit certain definitions of a hero. Keyes being more of the classic storybook character and Walter being more of a strict definition hero. There characters prove that heroes are not always the same and they are not always perfect. As my favorite Harry Potter quote says, "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. Thats who we really are." Each of these characters has the qualities of being a hero, what matters is the part they choose to act most on.