Rafay's Western Civilization 2018

we voted on whether we should or shouldnt take the test. i was late for class, therefore i was not there for the discussion. we also argued on whether we should to the questions because people had low grades like me so i had to raise it. i did it and it raised my grade 2 points! the exam is what is scarring me right now because i have to do good.

Today during class we managed to fit 15 slides in 45 minutes. My hand started to hurt during it, but I really didn't care because I had to grasp all the knowledge for exams coming up next week. Martin Luther was a pretty interesting man that actually somewhat influenced Christianity. We focused on Luther and the Reformation: from criticism to rebellion. Luther believed the Church was corrupt and the priest was doing some things that they weren't supposed to do, like drinking and being sexually active. In order to spread his word out to the people, he hammered 95 problems of the Church which was known to be the 95 Theses, which is like to be the 95 Main Ideas. Some people at Rome were furious at him and anyone that sees him could easily kill him with no consequence. before that he was placed on house arrest. Later, Prince Frederick let him stay with him and 2 Christian groups were made, PROTESTants and LUTHERans.

I got a 74 on my test. Well I can't complain because I sort of knew I was gonna do bad. Well i may just finish the quarter with a B. People that missed the test had to do it and we took notes. Renaissance means rebirth and I believe it's called this because they had a 'restart' on everything, like art and architecture. We were also taking notes and writing them on the white board and also in our notebook. The Renaissance is a very interesting topic and I would like to learn more. Some questions come into my mind when we learn about of these type of topics like 'Where would we be if this event didn't happen?'

Today we took a test on the Middle Ages and I do not know how I did. I always say I do good but I do bad. The test had 35 questions and was on white paper. Some people were not here while we took the test so they have to take it later. I studied for the test at home and during lunch. People finished before and after me and then did some class work.  I felt a bit nervous and ready for the test. You never know how you did until you get the grade back. I wonder how I will do during exams. If I don't perform well on this test, I don't know how I'll do on exams. These blogs can hopefully raise my grade up.

Today we talked about the Crusades which was practically my followed religion, Islam, versus Christianity, which primarily makes up this school. The battle was fought for over 200 years and broken up into 9 Crusades. That is almost equivalent to how long the United States has been around. We took a decent amount of notes and I believe that I am actually kind of ready. My hand is also sort of tired from taking all of those notes. And I am still not sure whether or not I should bring bring my notebook home because I have access to the blog and I pretty much just wrote my notes like the slides that were provided. I have Western Civ after lunch so I have plenty of time to study.

Today my day hasn't gone so well. Literally first thing in the morning, I got in trouble because I didn't shave. I had to go down to Ireton and get a really disgusting razor and shave in the nurse's. Then I had Spanish and forgot to do some work and my grade is about to go down. Man my last brain cell isn't really working out for me. Then I had Western Civ, which is the main reason why I am doing my blog. We went over the powerpoints and took some notes which really hurt my hand. So during class, I got hungry and thirsty because I'm fasting and completely forgot to eat before sunrise. Well it's my 8th year doing it so I'm really used to it. People say that like how do you do it and aren't you starving and not really. I just go on with my day and don't eat.  I took a 5 hour nap when I got home then I ate and I did my homework and now I'm doing my blog. So I believe I'm at 150 words so bye.

So today during class we took notes from the powerpoint about the Germanic kingdoms and answered questions from the section called The Power of The Church.  I'm actually kind of glad that we took notes from the powerpoint today because in my opinion, I believe that I wasn't taking good notes. In the beginning of the semester that we began western civ I took amazing notes. Right now, My last 2 brain cells are struggling to stay intact and are about to go bye bye before exams, which I am SOOOOOOO not ready for. Charlemagne was the dude who united the Germanic Kingdoms. Aren't I so smart, I definitely did not know that just from the title. We answered questions that we have been assigned to do and i'm happy that we are doing it. My grade is going up and i am happy for whatever points I need to go from a B to an A. So right now is first mod and its kind of humid and everything smells and is sticky. I don't know why it's just that stuff happens. M allergies are still...

My mind is somewhere besides in my brain. I thought last mod WAS last mod. We had to do questions and answer them and so I did.  We also got tested about our notes and i got tested on the word manor which was the land the lord owned. People are getting asked questions and getting them wrong and I am just dying right now in the corner, literally and figuratively. i just need to go home and finish up some work. Almost everyone is doing there blog because they are finished. I took mental notes because I don't believe in studying and right now I am not forced to take notes to I won't. My body is also sore from football practice and I am struggling to type. We don't have Western Civ tomorrow so i don't have to do a blog.

So Mr. Schick gave all of us 4 more points because he messed up on a question. My grade is now passing for this test and i feel proud. 72 and going strong. People got a 100, which I am like jealous right now. CAN I HAVE THERE POINTS?!?! My grade is at an 84 and I need an A. The notes that i finished were about "Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms." I need to do good on this test at least. I am also suffering with a stuffy nose and coughing here and there so that will be my excuse for why I did so bad. Imagine how I'm going to do on exams. Oh no. I am typing this during class and so are some other people. i guess now I have to deal with my grade for the test. Gosh i'm gonna be pretty annoyed of how I have a B. Well, there's always next year. It's going to be  a different class though. *insert an excessive amount of breathing here*

So we had a pop test today which apparently we knew about. I thought I did well on it. There was 25 questions so that's saying that it is 4 point each question. I got a 68 so that brought down my grade by 6 points. 88 to an 82. My parents right now believe that I have a 4.0 GPA. I don't know what else to say besides that I am very disappointed about my grade. This class is a challenging, yet fair class, but I did not prove myself on it. I should've done better on it. The test was on white paper and had a font which looked like Times New Roman. We were told to write down notes and answer questions which i did and if this goes on veracross, my grade should be going up. I really have to do better.

Today was fun and interesting. We learned about Germanic kingdoms and the barbarians. We also learned about the Hagia Sophia.  Barbarians assimilated into the Roman culture and they conquered. Angels and the Saxons invaded Britain and most of them converted into Christianity. Most powerful was the Franks. In the Eastern Empire was divided by the barbarian tribes. Justinian in 527 reunited the empire and conquered the western territories. Plague also affected the population. Byzantines preserved all the art and architecture of the greco-Roman art. Justinian made the Hagia Sophia (church to mosque to museum) in Constantinople the most glorious building and the biggest for 1000 years. the curves supported the high arches with the geometry stuff. Mert taught all of us about Turkey and it was interesting and funny. the ice cream trick was the funniest.

We talked about Rome declining. Jesus is killed 3 years after preaching. They believe He is the Messiah and the Savior whom has risen.  Saul become Paul spreading the message (persecutor to evangelist).  Christianity-- cult to official. Since they were monotheistic, they had conflicts with the Romans. It appealed to the poor and the numbers grew. AD 180 Rome has problems because of the economy and the military have been screwed up.  Diocletian divides the empire into 2. Greek speaking East (had more resources) and Latin speaking West (Rome, tradition). Constantine becomes emperor over both halves, and then moves the capital to Byzantium (from Constaninople). After his death, the empire is divided, again. (like A.T.G.) Now barbarian invaders run the empire frontiers. The empire comes to an end in 476 AD.

Today we talked about how Constantine sees an image of the cross in the sky which results as him converting to Christianity. He orders his troops to paint crosses on their shields while battling. Words also say (translation) "In this sign, conquer." As a result they win. The Edict of Milan in 313. Christianity is approved as a religion by the emperor. Since it continues to grow, it becomes the official religion. Rome declines while Christianity grows. Military has to defend a huge area. Economy cannot stabilize the people. People are very social. The last emperor was a 14 y.o. Romulus Augustulus.

I think I could type up notes from class because they were actually pretty short. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Jews and Christians were monotheistic The refused to worship Roman gods Early in Pax Romana, it was easy to travel and to spread ideas (Paul wasn't the only one who did so) Poor, desperate Romans were a receptive substance The Problem with Monotheism Jews and Christians were sometimes persecuted by Roman authorities, since Monotheism contradicted Roman law They could be exiled, imprisoned, executed, crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals Scapegoat: Aaron confessed Israelites' sins over a goat, then sent the goat away- symbolic The Appeal of Christianity Christianity grew because it:  Embraced all people: Men AND women enslaved people the poor (and noble) Gave hope to powerless Appealed to those who were disgusted by imperial Rome's decadence Offered a personal relationship with God Promis...

People were actually pretty happy about not doing blogs anymore. They were in Honors Western Civ, and they seemed happy. I was like really happy and shocked when I heard this. I really can't keep up with doing my blogs everyday and I have to do so much work and also blogs. I guess the good side of it is that it's pretty much free points. Right now I have a B, and I'm trying to raise that to an A. It's a brown thing to get good grades, so that's what i'm pretty much doing. We went into West Civ, and I was disappointed to hear that we still had to do blogs. In Western Civ, we also talked about how Jesus looked. Different churches have different pictures of Jesus. He maybe a blond with blue eyes, or a man with short, brown hair. This is also the class where I figured out I had allergies, so i am really not in the mood of doing blogs right now and I just keep on typing and typing till I right the word limit.

I walked in class not expecting a substitute.It was Mr. Vierheller. After he took attendance we went up to his room and he read the instructions. Turned out we had to take some notes in our notebook and the books were back on the first floor. But, majority of us had already taken notes, so it was like a free mod in a classroom. I was doing normal boy things you would do in a off, finishing up homework, looking through some shoes and watching some YouTube. Man that day was relaxing, I needed it. Everyone was just hanging out with each other and studying for upcoming test or just playing around. Today was also really weird. I started coughing a lot but I was like "it's probably going to wear off." Hopefully I'm right. A lot have people have been coming down with allergies and I don't want to be affected. I hate being sick, especially in the summer. (because we practically skipped spring)