The Weekly Write-Up #9
In this newsletter…
A book that started a war!
A GREAT YouTube channel for school! (DFTBA)
WAIT! I don’t have a phone?!
The most magical place on earth!
Something I Read
UNCLE TOM’S CABIN BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time, he said, “(So you are) the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Whether her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, actually started the war is debatable. Something else debatable is whether this is a good book. I’m here to tell you that it is a great book! I read this book about a year ago for a Literature and Composition class. Although it took me a long time to read, I really enjoyed reading this book! This book tells the story of a fictional African-American man who is enslaved in the pre-Civil War US. It narrates his struggles as well as some of his better times. He goes through many masters, some of which are ‘kind’ and others who are total jerks.
This book tells a great story, written in a compelling and captivating way. Although the book was pretty long (over 400 pages), I don’t feel like it dragged very much. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book, wondering what would come next. This was one of the books for school that I actually enjoyed and didn’t hate reading! Another thing that Stowe does well in this book is make you feel for Tom. She really builds up his character in a way that you come to love him and hate the people who are unkind to him! There are other wonderful characters in this book that she makes you feel for as well!
I honestly think this was a really great book and very well written. I would definitely recommend this book to teens and adults alike. It does show some awful treatment of slaves, so I wouldn’t recommend it to those younger than 10. It is a great book, though, so if you have some time on your hands, please consider reading it! I don’t know if it started the American Civil War, but I think that it may have begun a battle for one of the best historical fiction books that I’ve ever read!
Something I Watched
CRASH COURSE
Crash Course is a great YouTube channel for school. Whether you need to learn the material for the first time, study for a test, or you just want to learn for fun, you should check out Crash Course. The videos are educational as well as funny, and I really enjoy watching them when my History teacher assigns them to my class. I think they are perfect for Middle Schoolers, High Schoolers, and even college students!
The craziest part is the variety of subjects which Crash Course covers! They do courses for Anatomy, Astronomy, Black American History, Big History (whatever that is), Biology (which I have done), Entrepreneurship, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Ecology, Economics, Engineering, European History, Film Studies, Games, Geography, History of Science, Intellectual Property, Linguistics, Literature, Mythology, Navigating Digital Information, Organic Chemistry, Outbreak Science, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology, Statistics, Study Skills, Theater, Government, US History (the one I’m doing right now), World History (1 and 2), Zoology, and even Artificial Intelligence! Wow, that was a very long list!
In conclusion, the crash course videos are great resources to use when working on school or just for fun! They are great for teachers and students alike! I honestly don’t feel like these videos are dry or boring or uninteresting! The videos are also clean, and I don’t think I’ve come across any language (at least in the ones I’ve watched). There are some interestingopinions expressed, though, which you can just ignore if you don’t agree with them (obviously certain courses have more than others). Overall, though, I really enjoy these videos and would definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to learn in a more intriguing way! Here is their website and YouTube Channel! One more thing, DFTBA (Don’t forget to be awesome!)
Tech Thoughts
APPLE WATCH SE (1ST GENERATION)
This is honestly a very shocking fact to some people: I’m a teenager and don’t have a phone! Well…kind of! Allow me to explain. I don’t have a smartphone in the form that most people think. I do have a stand-alone (doesn’t rely on an iPhone) Apple Watch SE (1st Generation) with cellular. This device basically serves as my phone. I would like to go through and tell you SOME benefits of owning an Apple Watch.
I love my Apple Watch; that is literally no secret to anyone. I think one of the things that I like most about it is how freeing it is. I say this for two reasons. 1) For someone who loses stuff all the time, it is really nice to have something that is almost impossible to lose because it literally is attached to my wrist. With a phone, you can leave it somewhere, but that is much harder with a watch (unless you take it off). 2) It frees me from carrying another device around. I can get a notification, set a timer, respond to a text message, pay for something, check my activity, do a quick calculation, set myself a reminder, check a calendar event, ping another one of my devices (which is very helpful), check my email, get directions to a certain place, play some music, take a phone call, look up sports scores, start a stopwatch, record a voice memo, check the weather, track a workout, and so much more! All on this one device! And with cellular, I can do all of this even when I don’t have Wi-Fi. I don’t need to go grab my iPad or bring my iPad when I go places because I can just use my watch!
All that to say, the Apple Watch isn’t the all-in-one device of the century. There are definitely times when I need to use my iPad or wish I had an iPhone. There are three such instances that come to my mind right away. The most obvious is probably the screen size. The screen isn’t tiny, but it also isn’t great for most things. I obviously can’t type an essay or write an email on my watch because that isn’t what it is made for! That is when I would use my iPad or a phone. The next issue is the battery life. I usually don’t have an issue with the battery life, and it is completely sufficient to get me through the day. The problem comes when I’m using cellular. Cellular DRAINS the battery of the Apple Watch, so sometimes I find myself trying to save every last ounce of battery life left. With a phone or iPad, you don’t worry about this as much (depending on who you are) because a bigger device can obviously hold a bigger battery. The final ‘issue’ is only applicable when you have a stand-alone Apple Watch. This means that it isn’t tethered to an iPhone. Having a stand-alone Apple Watch is great because it means that I don’t also have to have an iPhone in order for it to work. This does have its set-backs, though, but they aren’t usually too noticeable. The biggest one is that I can’t download some apps without an iPhone. Even with these three cons, I still love using my Apple Watch, and I don’t think I need an iPhone yet because the Apple Watch is sufficient for what I need!
Now, should you buy an Apple Watch? If you are going to put it to good use, then by all means! Should you use it as your primary device (rather than an iPhone)? In most cases, I would say no! This setup is great for tweens, younger teens, and the elderly. For the average person, though, I doubt that you can have this as your sole device. Eventually, you are going to get frustrated by the small screen, no camera, or lesser capabilities in general. I’m probably going to get an iPhone in about a year, around the time when I get my driver’s license. If you want to get an Apple Watch, the question arises, “what model?” As always, it really depends on what you require. For most people, I think the Apple Watch SE is probably the best option because it offers great features with a lesser price (starts at $249). Very few people really need theApple Watch Ultra (which starts at $799). If you want more features than the SE, but don’t want/need the Apple Watch Ultra, then you can settle for the Apple Watch Series 8.
So, I love my Apple Watch, and for me at this stage of my life, I can use it in place of an iPhone, and I love it for that!
Tech Deal: The 9th Generation iPad is on sale for $269 on Amazon for Black Friday! That is literally a steal, so if you are looking for an iPad for a good deal, this is that deal! Click here to buy it! There are also a ton of other Black Friday deals, so check them out!
Wild Card
WALT DISNEY WORLD
Today, I want to talk about Walt Disney World. Now, I realize that there is a lot of controversy surrounding Disney, but I’m not here to talk about that today. Instead, I wish to talk about the amusement park itself in Orlando, Florida! Over the coming weeks, I’m going to discuss the 4 amusement parks that I’ve been to (Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, Kings Island, and Holiday World), and discuss why I like them (or don’t like them). Two things come to my mind when I think about positives of Disney World in Florida. The first is the theming, and the second is the range of ages that can best enjoy the experience.
Walt Disney World probably wins for the best themed amusement park that I’ve been to! All the rides and shows are themed so well, and it feels like you are inside the story. The best themed ride (well, really experience) is definitely Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. All 4 main parks in Disney World (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) are themed spectacularly, which is what makes Disney World so magical.
The other thing that makes Disney World so magical is the wide range of ages that can enjoy this awesome place! Young children, older kids, tweens, teens, and even adults can all enjoy this outstanding theme park! There is something for everyone to enjoy, and that is what makes it so great! There are rides and shows for younger kids, and rides and shows for those older than young kids! I enjoyed this theme park as a little kid, and I undoubtedly enjoy it now! That is something about Disney World that will never change!
Disney World is an astonishing theme park! Certainly, one of the best that I’ve been to (probably the best). My family has always loved Disney World, and we have gone countless times! We actually went to Hong Kong Disneyland once, which was also really cool! I look forward to going to this magical place again in the future!
I’m so glad that you have taken the time to read this newsletter! Please like this newsletter if you enjoyed it, and share it with others!