Emma’s Blog

Seventh grade has been a year full of fun, so here are my three favorite memories. One, when I was at my sibling’s school carnival, my friends Izzy, Jaden and I volunteered at the hair coloring booth. We all ambushed each other with hairspray at the same time. Another funny thing that happened was when my friend Kim and I were in line to get the school lunch. There was this girl standing by herself right in front of us, and out of nowhere she just started dancing! Kim and I were both shaking with silent laughter. I had surgery about six months ago, and was out of school for about three weeks. The day I came back, my dad and I had a meeting with the school counselor telling her what I could and couldn’t do because of surgery. Well about five minutes into the meeting, my friend Izzy was calling me over and over again, trying to figure out if I was coming to school. Then I came out of the front office and she ran up to me, giving me a hug that almost broke my previously- operated-on back.

I thankfully had another very productive week. This week I recorded my final routine for our presentation, at my dance studio. I only had a few struggles, one – my feet hurt like crazy! In order to reduce the pain for next time I dance, I had to get new padding for my toes. Another one was ny costume for the video ripped at the back. My accomplishments for the week, was that during class, I did leaps across the floor in pointe shoes. Lastly my apparently unsecure ribbon decided to come off again right after I recorded my video but right before class. Luckily my mom was there to help me sew it back on. I also did simple but fun jumps in the center and balanced on one foot en pointe for seven counts. This week I have finished my trifold for the presentation night, and I am Excited to share my learning experience with the people at my school!

Thanks for reading!

This image shows two children, one who we can only assume is a rich spoiled kid, and the other who is probably less fortunate. The rich kid has grown up with everything he could have ever wanted and the one time he didn’t get the Hot Wheels car in the exact shade of blue he wanted, he threw a tantrum. The less privileged kid probably never had exactly what he wanted, and making a toy car out of sticks, I would assume brought him joy. I had a friend who couldn’t afford much, and when she got something from a group present swap, she was overjoyed. But another one of my friends got something simple like a friendship bracelet and tossed it back to the girl who gave it to her.

This month I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by, J.K. Rowling. This book is the first in the Harry Potter series. The story starts when baby Harry Potter is dropped of at his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley’s home. Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid reluctantly handed the small orphan over to the cruel Muggles. Harry doesn’t know the truth about his parents’ death, he thinks they were killed in a car crash, that left him with only a scar on his forehead, shaped like a lightning bolt. On his cousin’s birthday, the Dursleys and Harry go to the zoo. It is a normal trip, until Harry speaks to a Brazilian snake, and causes the glass to disappear and the snake escapes. Harry Is then rewarded with a letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that his aunt and uncle won’t let him see. On his eleventh birthday, a ginormous man bursts through the door and informs Harry Potter that he is a wizard. This man’s name was Hagrid. Harry goes to a magical street to pick up things for school, and he learns the real story of how his parents died. He goes to King’s Cross Train Station, and meets half of the red-headed Weasley family. Ron Weasley, later becomes his best friend and they later meet Hermione Granger on the train, and she makes the duo a trio. Harry then learns quickly to ride a broom, and it turns out it’s in his blood. At school Harry, Ron, and Hermione come across the dreadful teacher Professor Snape, who has an unnatural hate for Harry. The trio meet friends and foes along their Hogwarts journey and believe Headmaster Dumbledore has a secret. The three are intent on finding out what the old man is hiding, and it leads to a thrilling adventure!

I loved this book because it was just so fun to read, and had great humor. I loved rereading this book because it had so many little details, that were explained later in the series. Even when Harry met Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley, Harry didn’t realize he had just met his future wife who had already fallen in love with him, Ginny. And the outcome of his first Quidditch game, leads to something huge in the end of the whole story. My favourite character was Ron Weasley. He had so many snide remarks that had me trying not to laugh in the middle of a silent class. When Hermione had to light a fire to get rid of an obstacle towards the end of the book, she (having non-magic parents) was complaining about not having any wood to start the fire. Ron’s reply was;

” ‘HAVE YOU GONE MAD?’ Ron bellowed. ‘ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?’ ‘Oh, right!’ said Hermione.’ ” – Page 278

I love that part because it shows that we all lose our minds in difficult situations. My favorite line was in the beginning, when Harry overhears Mrs. Weasley tell the mischievous twins Fred and George not to blow up anything at Hogwarts. She tells them not to blow up any toilets which Fred quickly notes to put it on his to-do list. The youngest, Ginny starts to cry because for the first time, she will be the only child at home.

“They leaned out of the window for her [Mrs. Weasley] to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. ‘Don’t, Ginny, we’ll send you loads of owls.’ ‘We’ll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.’ ‘George!’ ‘Only joking, Mum.’ ” – Page 97

I love this part because it is only the twins who would say this, and it had me laughing the first time I read it.

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! This week was EXTREMELY productive! I had only one struggle, my cushion in the shoe had come loose and my feet were barely padded while I was dancing. To fix this I realized if your tights’ seem was right where your toe is, this causes extra pain for your foot. So always make sure you have your tights positioned correctly. But on a happier note, I had a private lesson with my teacher, and we choreographed a dance for the presentation. The dance is very simple, but it shows my progress of going en pointe. It is about a minute long and I dance to a piano version of Taylor Swift’s song, August. So, this week was filled with lots of hard work, that will definitely pay off in the end. Next week, I will start on my trifold for the final project. On the trifold, there will be information on the anatomy of the pointe shoe along with a comparison of what the first pointe shoe looked like to what they look like now. Thanks for reading!

My favorite room in my house is the family room. In this room we have a big TV, and the most comfortable couch you will ever sit on. This is my favorite room to spend time with family just sitting around, sharing strange stories from our day while trying to interrupt an episode of The Masked Singer, that none of us really wanted to watch from the beginning. And having sleepovers with our cousins, under blankets on the couches watching Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast for the hundredth time, and entertainment of the little ones. The amount of popcorn spilled, and music videos watched is too much to count. Thank you to the family room!

This week was extremely successful! I didn’t have any issues this week, so no struggles to report today. But I did learn a few new ways to stretch my Achilles tendon, so that I don’t have problems with it later. The easiest way, is just sitting on the floor with your legs out in front of you. You lean forward like you would stretch out your hamstring , but bend your knees so you feel it in your lower calf and upper heel. I didn’t actually dance en pointe much this week, however I learned quite a lot about the pointe shoe history and the structure of the shoe. I learned that somewhere in the 1730s a ballerina named Marie Camargo invented the simple ballet shoe, by taking the heels off of her dancing shoes after A long tiring day of dancing. This eventually led to the creation of the pointe shoe in the romantic era of ballet. Thanks for reading! I will have lots more information for you next week!

I have done a lot of work this week, mostly research. I learned that pointe shoes were first tested without any support on your foot. As a result, we got what we know today as a ballet slipper. But overall, this week went extremely well! I have gotten more strength in my feet, and did échappé [ay-sha-pay], a move where your feet slide out from fifth position, and slide close with the opposite foot in front, and it repeats. The difficult part is, I did it in the center without a bar to hold onto. In class, my teacher gave me some new exercises to do with my thera-band, so I can get more strength in my left foot. I also did more core exercises to help me be en pointe longer. Next time I practice, I will do all my exercises, find more information on the anatomy of a pointe shoe.

Thanks for reading!!

This week I managed to accomplish a great amount. I can do a promenade (turn slowly around in a circle while staying in place), walk in the center across the floor while en pointe. This week my only struggle was the amount of pain my feet were in while I was dancing. I came out of the room, took my shoes off, and found that my feet were a bright red color! I had to adjust the padding in the shoe because my baby toes were being pressed up against the box of the shoe, and this could hurt your feet. This may sound weird, but cutting your toenails in a strait line also helps protect your foot and the shoe. Next time I start I will work on doing one leg exercises, and more center work. I have noticed my left side is a bit weaker so I will do a lot more strength routines too. Thanks for reading!

There are so many people i would like to have dinner with, but I can only invite three. I would invite three fictional characters, superheroes Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, and Carol Danvers. These three are Marvel’s best female heroes. Wanda Maximoff aka “The Scarlet Witch” is a strong woman, who would do anything to protect her husband and children. Her husband Vision was killed and she ‘brought him back’ using her powers to create a world where the two lived happily with their kids Billy and Tommy. It would be awesome to meet Natasha Romanoff aka “Black Widow” because she has always inspired me. She was Marvel’s first female superhero and was inspiration to little girls around the world since the character made her debut in Iron Man 2. She is the toughest one in the fictional Avengers program. Carol Danvers is better known as “Captain Marvel.” She was a fighter pilot in the 80s until an alien engine blast found her on another planet, where she was known as Vers. All three are strong women even thought they are only part of a comic book.