“ Liberty, equality, fraternity,” is a phrase that when spoken the French Revolution should come to mind. The Revolution did not just come from mid air; it was a process that took time. History book usually begin with the time when the Louis XVI, the Sun King died in 1715. It was the beginning of the end of the monarchy in France. The main reason was because after the king’s death it was difficult for any other successor to properly govern the nation. At that time the nation was split into three sections known as estates. The first estate consisted of the clergy and priests both rich and poor. Nobles were known to be part of the second estate. Apart form being only approximately two percent of the entire population, nobles were lucky enough to be exempt from taxes. The third estate was of course, the “commoners”. They were at the bottom of the chain forced not only to pay high taxes with low income, but also the tithe.  In 1715 the population was approximately 18 million and by 1789 it had grown to 25 million. The increase was not only in population, but also in the economy.  Then in the early 1700’s the economy started to slow down. One of the reasons was because of a poor harvest one year and tolls that made it difficult for people to start up their own small business. Suddenly in the 1770’s and ‘80’s France faced bigger problems with their banks. The reason was because Louis XV and Louis XVI had spending too much money on the war, supporting the American Revolution and to support the court of Versailles. With all the problems in the nation it was thought that the new king, Louis XVI, many things were going to change. It was a rude awakening when they didn’t because the king only had time for puzzles and hunting rather than the current economic problem. One person that did help was, Robert Turgot, which was Louis’ first finance minister. Turgot helped out by reducing expenses at Versailles and controlling government spending. He also tried taxing the nobles, but that did not work out and somehow taken out of office in 1776.

      The French Revolution had what people may call a moderate start. By 1786 the national debt had reached a peak, so the king called an estate meeting. Each estate was allowed to "deputies" to attend the meeting. The whole technique did not favor the third estate, so they held a meeting on their own in May 1789 and changed named themselves the National Assembly. The group meets on a tennis court and made an oath called of course the Tennis Court Oath. Soon after the two other estates joined the National Assembly. As time went by they created the Constitution of 1791, which limited the monarchy and created separate branches of the government. The constitution though was not enough to keep the people happy. So, on July 14, 1789 crowds stormed the Bastille to protest against the old regime. Also during that summer the "Great Fear" came upon farmers, who kept on getting robbed.

      The first country France took on in war was Austria in 1792. The same year in August Austria and Prussia planned on advancing to Paris. Duke of Brunswick, the Prussia commander, issued a declaration called the Brunswick Manifesto. It said that Paris would be burned and their rulers killed if they did not “peacefully surrender” to Prussia and Austria. But, people did not fear him or his declaration. People everywhere were cheering “Liberty, equality, fraternity,” and soldiers were sings “Marseillaise”, which is now the France national anthem. Soon September at Valmy the French were able to defeat the Duke of Brunswick. 

Blog #4

There is not enough words for me to describe my philosophy class. For the most part it was really intresting because the teacher shared some of my beliefs. I have to admit though that the class did have its boring days. The reason for that was because we talked about the readings that we had for the night, which were pretty boring anyway. It is not the author I am criticing but what it was about at first. The class overall would be really easy if we did our work and had our attention on the teacher for the whole time. Besides on the boring days I knew that i was not the only one that wanted to fall asleep. Part of that was because the teacher was such a calm voice that it makes you drift away. He was really cool though, especially when he told stories. I would recommend this class to students that are really intreseted in poverty and genetics. I would say that it is definately not like high school because of the time you are in there and you are on your own to do the homework.

Blog #3

On Monday I was given the chance to meet with Sherman Petite, the recruitment person at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He spoke to a group of us about the seventeen different programs they offer. Mr. Petite also gave us some handouts that show the classes or degree you need to have before you participate in the program. A program of interest to me is the college of nursing because if I do choose to go into the medical field that would be my major. In the end of his presentation he handed us a paper that had how many students applied to UNMC and how many got accepted. It was the most interesting because out of 1373 applicants for the college of medicine only 121 made it to the class. I really enjoyed having him as a speaker although I have heard a couple of the subjects he talked about.

Blog #2

What are your achievements? High school has been the place where I have devoted my time and effort for the past two years. There are two things that I have put more than 100% percent into though, which would be Dual Language Club and Senior Class Officers of 2009. Dual Language Club has had to be my highest priority this past school year because I was on the executive board. I was voted on early in the year so I had to spend a large part of my time working with not only the members, but the sponsors the full term. The club offers many volunteer opportunities and activities to get to know the members even further. The proudest achievement taht I received is having been chosen to be a senior class officer. It was the best thing because it is the class that votes for you to be on it. I felt very privilaged to have been voted on because I know that from that acitvity I have the opportunity to learn how to improve my leadership skills. It also gets me more involved with the many activities held throughout the school. What issues are important to you? Today the news is run by the media and can exaggerated to the extent that is wanted. Still there is an issue that seems to rarely come up, poverty. A large portion of the world's population falls below the line of what is either considered poor or worse. It is a very important issue to me because I come from a place, which is thought to be a country of low income. Some people think that poverty is an issue that does not concern them, but on the contrary it is. Poverty was caused over time by our ancestor because of wars and other problems that took power away from vonruble contries. I believe that every person should be given the opportunity to live a life whithout any worry of finances. A world where there is no suffering might only appear in dreams, but we never know if it is possible because we never pay any attention to it. Who has been an influence on you? When a child is born and you hold it in your arms you would never think if they would look up to you. Well, I think my mother might have thought that when she held me in her arms. She has taught so many things from being patient to showing me how to treat others. In my early childhood I remember her showing me the right way to introduce myself and how to treat my elders. Every single thing stayed with me, since she made sure that I never forgot any of it. A mother is a very special person that needs to be respected because they have gone through many pains including birth. I admire my mom and I will always aspire to be like her while still being me. Why do you want to attend our school? As a young girl I wanted to get married to prince charming and have many kids, well many girls did too. Yet, I would have never thought that my dream would be to go to college and make something great of myself. My castle in my present dream is called the University of Nebraska at Omaha. After only have been attending class at UNO for two weeks I have fallen in love with everything it has to offer. The university is so easy to get around in, so I know that there is not a big possiblity of getting lost. I enjoy the have a special major for those students who are undecided because I would belong in that category. There are also many soroities and many other clubs that sound really intresting. UNO is my castle where I hope my dreams to unfold and become something better. The teachers and student are really outgoing. Plus there are still many things to discover that I know will be exciting if I will be the opportunity to attend.

1. What was most encouraging and motivating to you and why?
The most motivating thing to me is to have this opportunity. I know that I have to have a future after high school and the program has been showing me that it is easier than it seems. College admission and classes are hard, but having that drive really helps. Summer Scholars is that drive for me because I have met so many great people that I know will always be there for me when I need help in school.

2.What was the most challenging and why?
The most challenging for me has been trying to use my time wisely. I'm a complete procrastinator and having so much free time does not help. When I first saw the syllabus for my class I knew that I had to change my habits in order to keep up. So, far I have done a good job in trying to use the a certain time to study and a different time to have fun. I still know that I will probably be wasting time in the next few weeks by doing something I'm not supposed to (myspace or facebook).
3.What did you learn about yourself? Describe the experiences that led you to this new information about yourself.
I learned that I am a huge procrastinator and a stubborn person. I know that when something is due in two week I will probably do it the night before. That is just how I work especially when it comes to school. My mom knows that it takes more than one try to get me to do something and I finally realized that if I do not get myself convinced I need to do something I won't do it.
4.What experiences have made a difference or have had a positive impact on you and why?
The challenge course at Ashland has made the biggest impact on me because I found out people can work as a team . I'm usually so independent that when ever there is a group activity I feel that I'm not giving it my all . I do enjoy working in groups, but I prefer working alone. The course really challenged my thinking because my team stuck together. At one point I was going to give up, but they are the one's that helped me through it. We not only completed a course, but I really experienced the true meaning of the word TEAM.