How does Outliers connect to MY life?

In the story Outliers, Malcom Gladwell touches upon subjects and theories that effect countries, cultures and people. Gladwell has a theory of why things are the way they are and then backs these theories up with facts and stories from people’s lives. Gladwell’s non-fiction book has a way of connecting to my life and many others.

One point that Gladwell made is about age and that the month you were born dictates your future in sports such as hockey. Also he stated that the year you were born can determines how successful or how much money you will make in your life. This currently relates to my life. Right now it's a very exciting time for many kids around my age. All the talk is about if you have your liscense or when you will be getting it! The month you were born is directly corilated to you being one of the first or last kids in your grade to get their liscense.There are some advantages to this like becoming more independent sooner or having to wait longer, or the hockey players being better and having more time to practice (22). When we get our permit in lets say Janruary, the three months advantage a person can have can make them a better driver "But they [hockey players] also got a big head start, an oppertunity that they neither deserved or earned.". This advantage was given to them by their parents. Gladwell figured this out by studying hockey players, but he also researched people like Bill Gates and the 10,000 rule.

In life it's not a supries to anyone that the harder you work, the better you get at something. Dedication is key to wanting to be being good at something and even the best. Gladwell's theory is that after a certain age, children split and some become the best and the others, well, don't. "And what's more, the people at the very top don't just work harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder". (39) This idea is related to my life currently and was more so when I was younger. I used to be in band and Gladwell mentions that the people with amazingly good talents worked harder and longer to get where they are now. I found this to be completely true. I played the saxophone and we were divided into two groups. We all knew that group one was the good group and group two was not. This was known beause the people in my group just did what we could do to get by while the other group practiced and worked until they could play their music with no errors. These are the people that are still playing and are experiencing greatness."The amatures never practiced more than about three hours a week...The professionals, on the other hand, steadily increased their practice time every year until by the age of twenty they, like the violinists, had reached ten thousand hours". (39) Life is full of people who have their goals set and know what they want. They know that they want to become the best they can be and they do this by practicing 10,000 hours jsut like The Beatles. Our favorite celeberties and singers didn't get good at what they do over night. "We [The Beatles] played seven nights a week. At first we played almost nonstop till twelve-thirty, when it closed, but as we git better the crowds stayed until two some mornings." (49) 10,000 hours of work is where you get to greatness.

Sometimes we don't have a choice with how successful we will be like the hockey players born in August. They couldn't have controled when their birthday was so that they are as "good" as the players born in Janruary. Sometimes we just get chances in life that help us become who we are. I was lucky enough to grow up in the middle class and have the education that I have. "Poor kids may out-learn rich kids during the school year. But during the sumer, they fall far behind."(258) Some kids only have the chance to learn during school but being raised in a middle class family has helped me learn all year round from the outside influences that I can encounter. Martia would not have had the chance for an education with out KIPP. The harsh schguel of a twelve hour day every day got Martia on the right track with education. "The way she was saying it made it sound so hard I thought I was going to prision."(263) Martia thought KIPP was going to be really hard, and it was. She now knew what it was like to be grown up at age 12. My school experiences (thank god) have not been anything like this but I know the intense schguel and how much Martia has to work to keep up her new life.

Gladwell comes up with ideas that I think would take a long time to understand get would take a good length of time to get enough data to confirm his thesis'. A lot of them relate to my life and the people around me. The birth month and the 10,000 hours of work have a lot to do with every day life. Your birth month along with chances are not something you can control but you can control the amount of hours you work on something to become professional.

Perspective Poetry Prompt

- BUILDING:  Describe a building as seen by a man whose son has just been killed in a war.  DO NOT mention the son, war, death, or the old man doing the seeing

Saddly,
It reminds me of him.
Everything reminds me of him.
The sounds on the inside echo the past 18 months
My imagination of the blood and tears that were shed
make me shiver
The outside portrays the parts we dont see.
The memories they bring home

But you didnt.

No one is lucky
I am not lucky
This reminds me of you its brand new
so young
but is so worn
the cover still looks calm and happy
even after the hurrican swept through
even after there was no one to take care of it
even when sights and sounds could have wrecked you
it stood

you stood

It took only a short time to destruct
would have happened to anything
your outside finally caught up with you
the pain was out of anyones control

it fell
and so did you.

Microfiction: The old woman turned and smiled

The old woman turned and smiled as I handed her purse back to her. She was the helpless victim of a crime. As she was walking through the park, a man with a bigger build than I and hands large enough to palm a basketball, simply walked by taking the purse from her vieny left hand.
Little did I know, there was a bigger problem. The man I tackled was working for the FBI. It was a way to get the elderly woman to file a complaint and while doing so get arrested on the spot. But why?
This woman has been the biggest crook this town has seen, and shes been unable to get caught. Stealing money and things here and there add up. I just realized I had helped the thief in our neighborhood. But this woman did not go to the police station, she went about her usual life, stealing and getting away with it. Until one day she was gone.

TU Tuesday- Editorial

Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

Young Drivers' Safety

Personally I cannot wait to get my permit! I'm so excited and I'm counting down the days...(3 months from tomorrow). I think it's a hassle to have to wait 6 months after I get my permit to get my liscense especially after knowing kids who didn't have to wait at all. Also all of the rumors going around saying we have to wait a year after getting our permit in New York are starting to make me mad.
The author clearly states facts but only once does he really talk about his opinion. He says that this new law prohibiting you to drive anyone else for six months may be annoying but he says that it's safer. He also says that its parents responsibilty is to make these restrictions affective. He says that if this law saves one life it will have been worth it, I agree with it but I don't know if everyone will be willing to do that. His evidence is that the number of crashes decreased 28% from 2007-2009.

young drivers' safety link

My T-Shirt Vote

Chocolate Chip

Creative Contest I blog

http://jestomaniac.blogspot.com/2011/02/life.html

Q=Queen Elizabeth Pocket Beagle

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/q/queenelizabethpocketbeagle.htm

Breed Description -  . "The chin definite enough to preclude snippiness. The teeth meet in a scissor bite. Eyes large and round, with a gentle, soft, and intelligent expression. Any eye color is allowed. The skin covers well and is not excessively loose. The neck should be well proportioned to the body, not too thick and not too thin. The neck can be of medium length to moderately long but is never short or excessively long. Shoulders sloping, are clean, muscular, not heavy or loaded, conveying the idea of freedom of action with activity. The back is moderate to medium in length. The hindquarters are strong and cleanly muscled. The tail is moderate as compared with the size of the hound free of kinks or twists. Tail set may vary so long as it is not carried tightly onto the back. The coat is short to medium and sleek with good hair coverage.  "
Appearance/Size -  they are small about 12 inches and only weigh up to 20lbs. They are black white and brown and the colored spots vary
Diet -  "Another good Beagle care nutritional food can be made by boiling liver from beef or a chicken until it is tender and then add a cup of diced vegetables for every pound of liver. Once veggies are cooked, chop the liver and wait until cooled to room temperature before feeding a cup of the mixture to your pet and watch it disappear"" A corn based diet should be avoided as it can break down the dogs immunity to skin and parasite conditions."  (http://www.beagledogguide.com/beagle/beagle-diet-and-nutrition)
Temperament -  "The Queen Elizabeth Pocket Beagle is a gentle, sweet, lively and curious dog that just loves everyone! A happy little tail-wagger! Sociable, brave and intelligent. Calm and loving. Excellent with children and generally good with other dogs"
Shedding -  "smooth short-haired coat is easy to look after. Brush with a firm bristle brush, and bathe with mild soap only when necessary. Dry shampoo occasionally.  Be sure to check the ears carefully for signs of infection and keep the nails trimmed. This breed is an average shedder."
Health/Allergies/Vaccines –  "Breeders recommend using Revolution as their monthly preventative because of its extra protection against ear and skin mites."

Creativity Breeds Creativity

http://www.humor-articles.com/sculptures-made-from-guns-and-bullets/

Culinary Poetry Prompt

This morning I woke up to the  beeping of the oven
The smell coming from the kitchen surrounds me
The banana bread is fresh and delectable
This is when it's the best.

As I glance from spot to spot in the kitchen
I realize no one in my house could be emanciated
the amount of food is superfluous
yet it all seems so necessary

With one taste of my mothers food
You would think she was educated in alimentary
From caserols to pancakes everything is as tasty as the next
Make sure you get a taste of her food for your self.