angry letter: Daves (draft)

1424 Ala Aolani Street

Honolulu, Hawaii, 96819

November 15, 2012

Dave’s Ice Cream Inc.

98-820 Moanalua Road

Aiea, Hawaii, 96701

Dear Dave’s Ice Cream incorporations,

Everyone I’ve come to know is in love with the various, delicious ice cream flavors served at Dave’s. All residents in Hawaii are bound to know about your famous flavors and deserts that are constantly served at all locations. It’s no question of why it’s such a well-known ice cream parlor in Hawaii.

Of course I am a big fan of Dave’s myself. But from the recent trips I’ve made to this establishment, it was pretty disappointing. Within the past three trips I’ve made to Dave’s Ice Cream, the story was always the same. Before, I’d receive a generous amount of ice cream inside an ordinary cup size. Unfortunately, The amount of ice cream being served has decreased dramatically. It’s understandable that you’re running a business and conserving money, but those large serving sizes is what made Dave’s the Hawaiian hotspot. It’s unsatisfying to see the ice cream servings not even pass the top of the cup, barely reaching it.

Going with these unreasonable sizing proportions, the pricing is way too much for the ice cream sizes to be forgiven. I ordered my ice cream as a size small. Knowing that this particular size cost around four dollars, it was expected that they’d give a decent amount. Slowly scooping the ice cream into my cup, out came a single scoop less than the size of my fist. Then looking towards the customer right next to me, it seemed unfair. A little girl had ordered a keiki sized ice cream and it was practically the same size as my order, it’s just that mines were over a dollar more. This action shocked me, as well as my family, because Dave’s isn’t the same place it was a year ago.

Seeing how Dave’s is under new management as well as having new employees, it was expected that Dave’s would improve itself and not become worse. Obviously, we were wrong. After receiving my unsatisfying ice cream, my mother, being disappointed and angered, confronted the server. She politely told the server that the size of the ice cream with the price made it unreasonable. It became clear that the server didn’t have too much experience and isn’t a people person. All he did was suggest that we’d ordered a different size where we would get more ice cream. This action had no Aloha in it what so ever.

I can see that your business decision changed and you’re looking towards more money and conserving your products. But Dave’s isn’t the Dave’s that Hawaii has come to know and love. The high expectations have changed for this parlor and have been angering many others. All you need to do is give your customers the amount they paid for, then you’ll have all of them coming back.

Sincerely,

Taylor Takahashi

risky business: teen alcohol abuse (draft)

Just about all the teens are drinking nowadays. So it’s probably the cool thing to do. Sure you might consider suicide or even get pregnant but it’s what everyone is doing. That’s what all kids seem to be thinking. They need to understand that alcohol will never fix your problems. Although teens drink alcohol to take away stress, consuming it at a young age will cause extremely poor decision making in life. Teen alcohol prevention is already a well-known topic to most. But what people don’t realize is that the ages of kids drinking alcohol are becoming younger. Roughly 20 percent of the alcohol consumed in the United States is done by young people, usually between ages twelve to twenty. Teen alcohol abuse will only cause you to do a poor job in life. Focusing on an important decision making lifestyle when your young is what prepares you for your future. Drinking alcohol will only corrupt your futures success.

            No one wants stress. Stress is what causes your mind and body to be improper. That’s why some kids have started drinking at a young age. In fact, long-term stress can increase risk for physical disorders such as stroke, gastrointestinal problems, high levels of bad cholesterol, and sleep disturbance. Teenagers, feel that by drinking alcohol, stress will be rid of. With stress, your mind won’t be able to focus, sometimes it changes the way you think for things. Having stress causes mood swings, confusion, poor memory, depression anxiety, and anger. Alcohol may seem to be the solution for most people. But, it shouldn’t be.

            Usually, teenagers think that they gain power and popularity when drinking alcohol. But the kids that drink alcohol are more likely to have early sexual behaviors. Teen drinkers are known to have more sexual intercourses. For example, current teen drinkers are more than twice as likely to have had sexual intercourses within the past three months than kids who don’t. One reason why some kids may drink alcohol at young ages is because of attention. They feel that by drinking various alcohols, it may attract attention of others. That’s why having sex is part of the question for most teen drinkers because drinking attracts the wrong crowd. Also, adolescents who drink are more likely to engage in risky sexual activities, like having sex with strangers, or failing to use any protection.  About 45% of teen pregnancy occurred with an alcoholic consumption beforehand. Most teens are doubtful of alcoholic risks, but it comes to their attention only when they’re victimized.

            Furthermore, teen alcohol use interacts with stress and depression. This will usually lead to suicide. Of all the young people who suffer from depression will eventually attempt suicide at least once. Alcohol use contributes to an estimated 300 teen suicides per year. Every year these numbers are rising due to several advertisements insisting that alcohol makes everything better. But obviously they’re wrong. Alcoholism is a factor in about 30% of all completed suicide. High school students who drink are four times as likely to have attempted suicide, as compared to the nondrinkers. I feel that it’s important that not only parents or peers realize this, but it’s what the drinkers themselves need to realize. If they take their time to solve their problems without any improper things, such as hobbies, they can take their mind off of these unnecessary thoughts.

            Everyday teens are faced with poor life decisions. Consuming you first cup of alcohol is just the beginning. Taking alcohol likely is not the way to go. There’s a reason why there’s an age limit for this type of drinking. When you’re young, you have to make decisions that’ll create a better life for you, not one that you regret. At this young age, alcohol shouldn’t even be in the question. Yes, alcohol can take away your stress in most cases. However, in the end it’s you who’s constantly suffering.

            

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college essay draft

The UO is interested in learning more about you. Write an essay of 500 words or less that shares information that we cannot find elsewhere on your application. Any topic you choose is welcome. Some ideas you might consider include your future ambitions and goals, a special talent or unusual interest that sets you apart from your peers, or a significant experience that influenced your life. If you are applying to the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, feel free to resubmit your honors college application essay.

Being the older sister, it’s my job to be the more responsible one, the more mature one, and the smarter one. In my case, it seems totally opposite. My younger sister Nicole is the golden child from my point of view. This only makes me try harder and persevere more than ever before.

Ever since I was a little, two years old infant, I’d have all the attention on me. What I wanted, I got it. Some would call this being complete spoiling. I was totally fine with it. Not long after, my little sister was born. In the beginning, it seemed like the most exciting thing ever. Having someone to play ball with, having someone to do makeovers with, or even having a new friend. What seemed to be a miraculous dream, all turned out to be a nightmare.

A few years had past and my sister was beginning to walk and speak a bit. From only saying, “mum mum” which meant food, all I’d hear would be “aww, how adorable”. Whether it was my aunties, uncles, or grandparents who came over, my sister always attracted them. She loved having everyone run towards her, grab her, and pick her up while stroking her short, brown hair. I knew this was only because she’s still pretty much a baby. It was fine, I had no jealousy as I understood all this attention would be pointed towards the baby who just started taking a few steps.

When Nicole was in 6^th grade while I was in 8^th, things definitely changed. She would start doing chores without being told, finishing big projects, and going to school with perfect grades. I’d see her work throughout the whole weekend just doing a couple assignments. Perfectionist is what I call it. Seeing how I didn’t have perfect grades in elementary and looking at my little sisters, I guess you could say I was a bit jealous. That’s because I was in the end of 8^th grade where my grades weren’t so bright. I made an accumulative GPA of 3.2. This wasn’t satisfying for me at all.

Eventually, I was a freshman in high school and she became a middle school student. I don’t know why but all my effort weren’t there. Whether it came to playing soccer or doing schoolwork, I was definitely slacking and it showed. This wasn’t my sister’s case. She was getting straight A’s for all quarters while playing intermediate volleyball and club. As the days for report cards came in, I never wanted my parents to see it. Knowing how disappointed they’d be or how irritated they’d be, I was bound to get a lecture. However, Nicole showing her report card to the family is another story. My grandparents give her money and my parents take our whole family out to celebrate in her honor. Honestly, this made me feel unimportant.

Then one day I realized, if I changed the way I looked upon things, I could persevere through it. Instead of giving up on homework and giving half an effort for tests, I needed to be the person who strides for good grades. Having a younger sister who’s academically better than me, only made me want to change that. So now, I’m the girl who’s striding for good grades and who’s trying to be and overall responsible person. There’s no reason for me to take my younger sister likely. Rather than having jealousy, it made me try to exceed a lot more. This rang a bell in my head, “why is my sister achieving more than me?” Instead of having my head down, it’s up. I’m the sister who acts like she cares, who takes the initiative to get better grades, the one who’s not giving up. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, and it’s not changing.

  

word choice assignment

A young, women tennis player makes a huge stride so that she can hit the ball back with grab force. She tightly clutches her racket with both hands so she can take a massive swing where the ball is sent back into the court. Her hair is drastically flying in the air as she has a face of excitement towards the game.

college essay question

san diego state university

university of hawaii

university of oregon

University of Oregon essay:
The UO is interested in learning more about you. Write an essay of 500 words or less that shares information that we cannot find elsewhere on your application. Any topic you choose is welcome. Some ideas you might consider include your future ambitions and goals, a special talent or unusual interest that sets you apart from your peers, or a significant experience that influenced your life. If you are applying to the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, feel free to resubmit your honors college application essay.

coming of age poster draft

Coming of Age: Draft

            Today, people now know me as the girl who’s outgoing and fun to be around. Where as in the past, I would always clutch tightly clutch onto my mother’s hand, trying to hide behind her.  This all changed when I was part of a soccer team. Soccer changed the way I associate with others today. It changed my life forever and showed that I grew more mature.

            I walked onto a soccer field for the first time in my life not knowing how to play or what to do.  Everyday for the first couple weeks of practice, I would always complain to my mom about how I hate the sport. She didn’t bother listening to my comments because for some reason, she absolutely knew that I would come to love this sport, and she was right. For that Saturday when we played our first game, some thing magical happened. The girl who had no idea how to play was starting to dribble past all the approaching defenders and score the first goal for the Pink Butterflies! That wasn’t the end, after I was dribbling up and down the line as if I were training for the Olympics. I could hear the roaring sounds of the parents cheering on the sidelines supporting our team through the whole game. Then suddenly I hear my soccer team running up to talk to me. I made a bunch of new friends and got along with all of them, something I wouldn’t expect. This glorious day will always be with me because it made me realize, soccer is the sport for me.

            By the time I was in fifth grade, my coach decided that it was time for me to join club soccer. At first, I was timid about it and thought of it as too competitive, but my parents and I exchanged some looks and realized, competition is exactly what I need. In that instant, soccer was what I did just about everyday. As my dad parked his truck on my first day practicing, I took one big leap out. Drastically gripping the handles of my bag, I start making my way to the practice field where I saw my coach and team. This first day of practice wasn’t the greatest. It’s a hundred times more intense then any A.Y.S.O. practice I’ve ever been to. We started off with simple warm ups which lead to scrimmaging. Just about everything I did on the field was criticized by the coach, whether I passed it, kicked it, or shot it.  With a few more weeks of training, I started getting a whole lot better. Making new friends was starting to get easier, and easier. Soon enough, I wasn’t known as the quietest girl on the team.

            Finally, high schools just around the corner. To best prepare me for high school season soccer, I joined summer league for Moanalua. Luckily I had my friends join with me. When we played our first game, I thought of as just another simple game, but I was wrong. When I saw how the upper classmen play, I knew I had to step up my game. Those girls were fearless as they passed the ball side to side around everyone like it was a game of pinball and knocked down whoever got in there way. This made me want to practice and train even harder. The day of soccer tryouts came and I put my whole heart into it. They announced that I made the junior varsity team, I was ecstatic! Seeing the girls who were on my team was a little intimidating, but it didn’t bother me. After getting used to my high school team, I wanted to show the coach that I had what it took to be one of the leaders. Shoving the other team as I got the ball, cutting the ball side to side, passing the ball with lightning pace, I knew I was making an impression. Then suddenly, my voice somehow found a way out of my body. I was actually communicating on the field. “Drop back! Man on”, I was starting to become a real soccer player. By doing this, my coaches’ saw that I had true potential. From that day on, I’ve been starting every game for High School and I train everyday with an even greater passion.

            True, when I was younger I was so shy that people didn’t even know my voice. Now, that’s the past. Soccer has leaded me to be the person I am today. Today, I can’t even remember my life without soccer. I may not be a complete social butterfly yet, but at least I’ve gotten better. That’s when I knew, soccer was my coming of age.

BLOG REVISIONS!!!

For my blog, I changed the title to "don't frown, write it down". Then I replaced my old background to a tie dye background. This made my page pop and it went well with my picture because it made the whole theme of this blog fun. I also changed the colors of the headers and links so it goes along with my colorful theme. Lastly, I organized my blog archive by month so it's easier to find.

Mini Essay: Position Statement

There has been a number of incidents dealing with the dangers of some of Hawaii's nature attractions. Although people are saying that it's the States fault for this, the real people to blame are the visitors. They're responsible for their own safety. First of all, people need to take the caution signs seriously. Even with these warnings, people are still taking the whole situation too lightly.Paula Ramirez and Elisabeth Brem died when walking off a cliff near Opaekaa Falls in kaui. The article states that "there was a sign on the left trail advising to keep out." This was to prevent people from going beyond that point, but they didn't listen. Furthermore, the tourists who visit this blowhole can't take this situation lightly, they need to always take precaution. For example, even though visitors heard about cases of others dying and disappearing at the blowhole, there were still a bunch of visitors who decided to gather closely around the blowhole area at Nakalele Point. Knowing about past deaths dealing with this site should be giving people a clearer idea of how they need to be more careful. Lastly, as you visit an unfamiliar place with deathly hazards, it should be common sense to look out for your safety. Unfortuately David Pott's didn't care at all about his own safety. He was seen carelessly dancing around the blowhole which later lead him towards his death as a large wave knocked him in the blowhole. Therefore, it's not our states fault for these deaths dealing with our natural attractions, it's the careless visitors to blame.

glo website

http://www.wix.com/ttakas808/hi


What did you learn about your child's achievements and experiences in MeneMAC this past year?

revision: coney island life

"Coney Island Life" by James Weil is about how life is a carnival. Like how he compares his situations in life to a roller coaster going up and down, or him being on a marry-go-round trying to grabbing the brass ring till his moments in life were ending and he needed to take some risks before he passed.


"On roller coaster ups and downs", meaning his life shows the negatives and positives just like roller coasters that go from it's lows to highs. 


The structure's pretty short and it emphasizes certain words towards the end. The length of the poem helped you understand the poem and also easier to make relationships towards it. The short, two worded phrases at the end, showed what showed what he was doing in life and emphasized it so it stood out. For example: "and ask" or " I have" shows how he interpreted his life and what makes him realize life is going past.


"I take my last ride on a planet carousel". This explains how the rides at his carnival might be his last. Then he asks himself, "how many more times around do I have". He's thinking of what has his life become and how he can live it to the fullest before he dies.


This poem talks about James Weil's hopes and dreams being compared to roller coasters and balloons because roller coasters has its ups and downs while balloons are like high hopes. So basically, this poem is relating to a carnival and life.