The First Month of High School

             The first month of high school has been very good for the most part. The high school is even more different from the middle school than I expected. So far, the best thing about high school is that we are using IPads in many classes. Using IPads regularly in school is something I had never done before, and so far I am loving it. Typing on the IPad and being able to download notes is much better than handwriting them in my opinion, especially for me because my handwriting is terrible. Also, especially in Englush class, almost all of the activities we do in class involve the IPad. The IPad makes whatever we do interesting and I have enjoyed almost all of our English assignments so far. Also, I like how we get an occasional free period and that we can go out for lunch if we want. The worst thing about high school is definitely the increased workload. Last year, I did most of my homework in school and there were not as many tests (and the tests we did have were mostly easy). This year, we have more tests and I have to study a lot more. Also, I get homework in almost all my classes almost every day, so most weekdays have little to no down time at home. Although we do get more work, the freedom of high school outweigh the largely increased workload. As long as we don't get too much more work and tests, I think I will enjoy my first year of high school.

God Characterization Map and Reflection

Last night for homework we read Genesis 6-9 and learned about God's characteristics through indirect characterization.  In class today, we made a mind map about God. There were many things that I learned about God through indirect characterization, especially from things he said. For example, God said, “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die.​
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From this quote and other quotes, I learned that God is cruel, harsh, and impatient, but he can also be caring because he game Noah a lot of guidance. Some of these characteristics about God are very surprising to me. I never thought about God to be cruel and harsh, I thought he was almost perfect, but I learned today that he actually has done many cruel things that weren't fully necessary. Additionally, I now think of God as more of a character rather than a powerful figure without any flaws. Out of all the assignments we completed, this is definitely one of my favorites. That is because I learned something interesting about God and I also enjoyed creating the mind map because I hadn't done many in school. Assignments like this are very different from other classes and I like them much better because they are not boring at all. Also, it doesn't involve writing anything down or printing anything, we can just submit it electronically. It is much easier than printing or writing homework, and I hope other classes can start assigning homework like this.

Who to Blame for Adam and Eve Getting Kicked out of the Garden of Eden

        I think that the serpent is to blame for Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden. That is because the serpent deceived Eve into eating the fruit. Adam and Eve were told by God "you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you surely die." When Eve says to the serpent that they cannot eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the serpent responds "you will surely not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing of the good and evil." Now that Eve was told that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also good for gaining wisdom, she ate the fruit.  She also gave Adam some fruit, who ate it as well. Although it was wrong of Adam and Eve to eat the fruit because they were disobeying God, they never would've done it if it weren't for the serpent. The serpent knew that if Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they would be disobeying God, yet he still convinced Eve to eat from the tree. Therefore, even though it is reasonable to blame Eve for eating from the tree, I feel that the serpent is to blame for Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

Flood Comparison: Epic of Gilgamesh vs. Greek

        Another flood story that is similar to the story in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the greek flood story. Zeus (the main god of the Greeks) sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age. Deucalion was advised by his father Prometheus to build a chest. Except for a few men who escaped to high mountains, all men perished. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha (daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora), landed on Parnassus after floating in the chest for nine days and nights. Because they were wicked, the first race of people was completely destroyed. Deucalion survived due to his prudence and piety. He also linked the first and second race of men. He loaded his wives and children and all animals onto an ark. The animals came to him, and with the help of God, the animals were friendly throughout the flood. The flood waters escaped down a chasm opened in Hierapolis. This Greek flood story is similar to the one in the Epic of Gilgamesh for several reasons. In this story, Deucalion gets advised by his father Prometheus to build a chest, similar to how Utnapisthim gets advised by the god EA to build a boat before the flood. The stories are also similar because all of mankind gets destroyed except Utnapishtim survives in the Epic of Gilgamesh flood story and Deucalion survives in the Greek one. These flood stories are different because the flood lasts for nine days and nine nights in the Greek story one and six days and six nights in the Epic of Gilgamesh story. The stories are also different because Utnapishtim was granted immortality because he survived the flood, unlike Deucalion. In addition, Utnapishtim gets a warming about the flood from a god, while Deucalion gets the warning from his father. 

Source: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html#Greek

The Beginning

Hello,
My name is Adam Covey and I am a freshman at Roslyn High School. Some of my interests include sports and reading. I am creating this blog to show what I am doing throughout my ninth grade year. Our whole english class is creating this blog, and I think it is an excellent idea that we are creating this blog. This is a great project because it allows the whole world to see what we are doing not just in English class, but in our whole life as well. In addition, I like the fact that we can look at our peers blogs and see what they are doing as well. It is also different from just copying notes, and I have never done anything like this in any other class. I am very excited to post new things on this blog throughout the school year.