Letter to a Location

Letter to a location

Dear Dance room,

Oh how I wish you didn’t smell like a wresting locker room but since you are the wresting room too I guess it is an occupational hazard.  You poor abused mirrors you not only get kicked by some of our turns and leaps but a few wrestlers have been known to do you in too.  To the floor, we have a love hate relationship.  You are really painful when gravity takes in and during drops, but you also support my turns and let me fly.  Oh the countless hours of dancing and bounding that you have provided.  Long days full of zero periods and the occasional after school practice have allowed me to memorize your every corner without even being awake.   You have seen the good the bad, the highs and the lows of our team and practices.  You have taken our abuse; from drops, kicks, leaps, to “living” moments.  You have provided a safe creative environment to grow new bounds, and new styles.  You have taken abuse from the thousands of dancers that have passed through your doors to the actually crack in the floor (that we currently have duck taped) from a rally day where the bleachers weren’t too nice to you.  I will always remember all of the falls that have come from your slippery floor.  There is a feeling of home that comes simply from walking through your doors, any four of them.  To the speakers you have played countless beats of music, many I have even edited.  You provide some of the soundtrack of my life.  When you grow up and more of your alumni have become wealthy dancers I hope you will be blessed with air conditioning.  You are the hottest room on campus, especially when PE classes are in the gym on 100-degree days.  Please dear dance room do not take my constructive criticism as a whiners tirade.  I feel so blessed to attend Los Osos High School where not only academics and sports are valued but the fine arts are valued as well.  I do wish that dance was considered a fine art and a sport, but you’re just the room you don’t make the policy.  I hope you will continue to be there for many more generations for aspiring dancers and students who are just exploring the amazing world of dance.  If your walls could talk they would reveal the hopes, the dreams, and the sorrows of many.  You can take pride in the fact that you have given thousands of Los Osos students a chance to explore and excel in the fine arts.  I will not miss your 120 degree temperatures during the summer months but I will miss the people, the teachers, the choreographers, the team mates that you have housed for the four years I have been a Grizzly.   You were the first to witness my recovery from a hamstring injury as a JV dancer and the first to witness my fouettes, floats and turns that I have worked for years to perfect.

Love and sometimes hate,

Aimee Ermel

Senior Memoir Why I Create

Working on my senior memoir was a lot of fun and it made me realize how fast the school year has gone by.  I think that through writing all of these personal journey essays I really realized how far I have journeyed.  One that I really enjoyed was the Why I ___ prompt.

      I create because it brings joy to others and me.  It is my passion and where I find happiness.  Creating encompasses all of my passions: dance, drawing, animation, science and multimedia.  Dance is my oldest friend out of the fine arts.  Starting when I was eight and just learning it has provided a place for self-expression and memories.  Dancing provides the chance to soar and push past what I once thought was my limit.  Thanks to the dance team at school I have developed a passion for choreographing.  It isn’t easy, in fact choreographing has been more challenging than learning a new step, but the final product is very rewarding.  I have had ups and downs in dance; this alone has helped shape who I am.  When I pulled my hamstring and had to take a break from dance I discovered art.  I had always had a love for drawing things but it wasn’t until 7^th grade that I discovered I actually had talent.  Drawing provided an outlet for the pain I felt from dance, it was and is truly the best therapy.  Creating is the way I can take out my frustration and turn it into something beautiful.  I love being able to take what was once a blank page and give it life, a face, or memory.  Animation defines creating.  It is one of the only art forms where a character truly comes to life.  People watch Disney animation and see what were once just blank pages that were turned into characters that can resonate with the audience.  There is an inexplicable feeling I get from seeing my art come to life.  When I create there are no limitations and no ways to fail.  I have grown up with science.  I have two scientists as parents, how could I not?  It wasn’t until recently that I have realized that the boundary between science and the arts really doesn’t exist.  It takes a creative person to come up with a hypothesis to be tested.  In its own way science is its own genre of art.  Art and animation are also necessary for making the public able to understand discoveries at the molecular and sub molecular level.  More and more science needs art to speak for it.

       I create for the feeling of accomplishment.  No matter how it turns out I find joy out of the process and knowing I have grown a little bit as a person simply by trying.  I have found the drive to my dreams through creating.  I am blessed to have more than just one talent pathway to find joy.  It is this joy and passion that I want to share with others.  It is fun to impress people and make some ones day by just giving them a drawing.  I like being able to take what could be seen as something simple and turn it into something deeper and more meaningful.  Simply, I create because I cant imagine not doing it.

Up-Hill

I just read a poem titled, Up-Hill, by Christina Rossetti. When I read this poem, it made me think about how some of us feel as graduation is approaching. The poem is basically a person asking a questions and another person answering back. It begins by stating that the journey is long and continues on to talk about if there's a place to rest and when it talks about this place it hints that this place is a place for comfort and help.As we get closer to graduation, we feel excited to finally be done with one chapter in our life, but at the same time we may feel afraid or uncertain of what the future holds for us. The long journey that the poem is talking about can symbolize the long journey that we will have to experience in order to get to where we want to be. The place where the person in the poem can sleep symbolizes that there will be people there to help us get past our struggles and help us feel comfortable as we go through our new journey.

-Jamie N.

What I've Learned in AP Lit

As I flip through the pages of my English journal, I have noticed that we learned a lot in this class. I have learned more things this year in English than in any of my English classes in the previous years. From allusions to sociological/philosophical approaches this class became one of my most interesting classes during my senior year. I am glad that I chose to take this class because it gave me a chance to learn about what literature really is and how much knowledge I can gain from it. Before this class I thought literature wasso boring and I assumed that I wouldn't learn much, but I was definitely wrong. In this class I was given the chance to learn about what a dystopian novel is and how to a write a sestina. This is a class that I will miss a lot and I will definitely carry the knowledge that I have gained from it to college.

-Jamie N.

Nature is what we see

This past month I found my favorite poem and it is called Nautre Is What We See by Emily Dickenson. This poem would have to be my favorite poem because Dickenson it gives us a different perspective on the extensiveness of nature. Dickenson makes us think about how we perceive nature ourselves, what we hear, what we see, and finally what we know and how little it is compared to its full meanings. This poem yet short is packed with literary meaning, imagery with pictures and sound, metaphors comparing the sound of a little cricket and the roar of thunder, two very different things, and diction the way she uses Nay, as “nature” is one of her friends.  Everyone should ask themselves these questions and interpret them for themselves after reading the poem. I also really like DIckensons poetry she has a very calming effect on my mind, she makes things so relaxing. Her imadgery is very vivid and beautiful. Below is the link to to the poem if any of you are interested: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nature-is-what-we-see/

The Age of Innocence Book Review

Wharton, Edith. The age of innocence. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library, 1996. Print.

Reviewed by Jamie Narimatsu, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA


The Age of Innocence is a novel that is set in the1870s in upper class New York City. The novel introduces us with the main character, Newland Archer. He is watching an opera and across where he is seated, he sees his fiance, May Welland. He is happy that he is engaged to her and he wants to let everyone know that they will be getting married. After a while he gets up from his seat and walks towards where May is seated. There, he approaches her and she introduces him to her cousin, Ellen Olenska, who Newland knew as a child. After Ellen's arrival, Newland's life is turned around as he begins to realize that May is a girl who acts how society wants her to be, while Ellen is a woman who he is in love with because she is different than society and fights for her freedom.

Wharton made her society seem realistic and created it to be similar to the society in the 1870s. She created certain characters such as the Mingott family to show how upper class society was at the time and she created an outcast like Ellen to show how the upper class judged the people that were different or were not a part of their class.

 The Age of Innocence is a novel that was cleverly created. The setting and theme were interesting choices and the drama filled plot will make readers want to keep on reading the book until the end. This is a book that is worth reading and readers be yearning to find out how the relationship between Ellen and Newland will end up.

-Jamie N.

HIGH SCHOOL, the lessons, the life, the rewards.

To everyone in our class, I think we can all relate to some very common thoughts. The first being, "Woo hoo, we're done!", the second being, "What am I going to do in life now.", and finally, "Gee, we sure did learn a lot in high school." Not only in high school do you learn a lot about liturature, math, history and the very general academic things, things which are all very rewarding, but you also learn a lot about yourself, and the journey you have finally, hopefully, finished. Now I could go into what the 4 years were like step by step but instead I think I should just get to the point. At the end of this long journey, now, we all come out of this place productive memebers of socety ready to go onto the next steps of our lives, ready to learn more, and ready to gain the rewards of a new journey in our future. High school has changed everyone, this is a great reward, we know what we were then and what we are now and how much we have changed for the better. Some rewards we can use when we move on to college are the skill of managing our study life and social life, something everyone has had to learn to balance. Its crazy for me writing this right now, its really making me think about all the great times high school has brought me. That is probably one of the biggest rewards we can all take from high school, we have all made memories at or around Los Osos High that will never be taken from us. It has truly been an honor to go to school at Los Osos. And finally good luck to everyone in their future joureys, may the rewards be great.
-Kyle Fischer

When We Were Orphans Book Review

     Ishiguro, Kazuo.  When We Were Orphans.  (London, Great Britain: Vintage International, 2000), 335pp.

     Reviewed by Collin Gilchrist, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

     When We Were Orphans, by Kazuo Ishiguro, tells the story of Christopher Banks, an English detective who was born in an international district of Shanghai, China.  When he was a young boy, his parents went missing and have not been found.

     The first section of the novel is about Christopher's early adult life.  He is currently living in London and the year is 1930.  This section describes Christopher searching to find his way in life.  He is kind of reserved and bashful.  Very quickly I found Christopher to be one of the most relatable characters I have read about.  In the opening scene he is attending a party where he meets many successful people who are a good deal older than him.  This scene made me think of several of the fancy events I have attended recently because I am going to college soon, such as the dinner I attended to receive a scholarship from my Dad's company.  I met many well-connected people but went in knowing no one.  At the party he is introduced to and becomes infatuated with Sarah Hemmings.  She retains some amount of significance in Christopher's life later in the novel.  Ishiguro's language usage is immediately apparent as very intellectual and proper.  The novel feels very British from the first page.  Unfortunately, this section feels like it has little plot direction, and started to become boring to me.

     The second section of the novel consists of flashbacks to Christopher's childhood in Shanghai.  He lives in luxury with his parents.  Christopher recounts playing with and getting into trouble with his Japanese friend Akira, who also lives in Shanghai's International district.  I found Akira interesting because his personality is very similar to that of one of my friends from my elementary school days.  The beginning of this section also felt like it had little direction, but looking back, I realize that this part of the novel is all about detail.  Ishiguro takes a great deal of time to make sure that the character's of Akira and Uncle Philip, because they are important later in the novel.  The plot suddenly takes off when first Christopher's father, and then his mother, are kidnapped.  Because there wasn't a lot of reference to this event, it took me by surprise, and all of a sudden all that background information made sense.  One point that I found very amusing is that when Christopher's father is kidnapped, he and Akira pretend to try and rescue his father.  I think the disappearance of Christopher's parents played a role in his career choice.

    The third and largest chunk of the novel resumes Christopher's adulthood, but now closer towards the middle of his life.  He has found his own way, and after gathering more clues, he thinks he has an idea as to where his parents are.  Does he find them?  I'll leave that to you to read the book and find out for yourself.

     Although When We Were Orphans was quite bland in the beginning, it proved to be quite an enjoyable novel.  I found the setting and plot to be original and unique when compared to anything I had read before.  In terms of plausibility I would say that the story is quite plausible.  It is a work of fiction in a completely non-fictitious setting.  Although some events feel like small coincidences, they are in no way implausible.  By the last page, Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans was a great, refreshing read.



-C. Gilchrist

Because I Could Not Stop For Death Analysis

In class last week we had to write an analysis on the philospohical and sociological merit in this poem and analyze Dickensons opinion on life. As I sat in class leausurly glossing over the poem I thought to my self, "Ehh another assessment, another poem" but then as I kept glossing over it a couple of things connected for me in the poem. First off Dickenson looks at life as a thing to be lived to its fullest, with of course the possiblility of death at any time. She talks about death so comfortably that it almost seems like she has come to terms that eventuially "Death will stop for her" but until that day she will do nothing less with her life, she wont stop loving the life she lives just because the thought of death may slow her down. And another thing I found quite interesting was the fact that Dickenson talks about death in such a calm, nice manner, something, or in this case someone that is taking her on an new adventure. She talks about going into "eternity", like after death there is another life to be lived in "immortality." If you think about it, this is a pretty cool poem, she gives you a feeling that nobody should stop for the inevitable death to get you and when it finally does come, embrace it.
-Kyle Fischer

What I Read That Mattered

What I Read That Mattered

                Hopefully when I’m looking back on this letter in the following years I remember all the “reading” I did in high school. I want to remember looking back at spark notes for all the reading that I didn’t do, and all the books that I should have read an I managed not to read at all but make it by in the class and still get a good grade. I’m sure the teacher reading this is snarling at this letter trying to think of all the way that they could eliminate spark notes from the internet and make their classes harder. But in fact through all the spark notes, I did read some books. I enjoyed the transition of books that I read from a freshman to a senior, the books not only got deeper, but they applied more to your life as you grew older and you life’s decisions began to transition. Freshmen year my favorite book was The Alchemist, now yes this book was the first book we read going into high school but it was a nice easy read that portrayed your future to you, at that point you were young in life and waiting for your future. Sophomore year the books weren’t all that interesting, but they did get deeper and made you think more. Junior year, the book that I liked the most was Walden, this book was a very refreshing book it let you look at the simpler things in life and help you look at the more important things. And finally senior year, this year Mrs. Elliott defiantly knew how to pick readings that directly applied to seniors, they all consisted of a journey that opened up your perspectives to the future and made you realize that right now you really are at a crossroads in your life and things are going to be changing a lot. The one for the year would have to be The Poisonwood Bible that book defiantly symbolized a crossroads in life and a change in those people’s lives that was defiantly significant, much like our lives right now. I really enjoyed this transition from year to year and the transition through them. I guess I will remember my memories with my English teachers more than the books that I read over the years. Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on this subject as well?

-Kyle Fischer

Every journey is a reward

As senior year comes to a close we are all looking back on the memories of our entire high school experience. In class we are discussing how "the journey is the reward" and I can't think of a better example of this theme than what has happened in school. The classes we've taken, friends we've met, gained, and lost, relationships built and destroyed all contribute to the kind of person you are today. One of the questions that I know I have been asked by my teachers and friends quite frequently is "what would you go back and change?". Looking back on all of my decisions I can say with confidence that I am proud of my choices and my mistakes. Every time I have decided to do, or not to do something has taught me a lesson. These lessons learned are a reward in themselves because they will be able to give insight into the future, and they make sure that the same mistakes are not made twice. What we will take away from our high school experience will stay with us through college and the rest of our lives. Although most of us say that we hate Los Osos, we owe so much to this school. Without it who knows how we all would have turned out. As we enter college we must treat it with the mindset that each experience will be an important life lesson we will carry with us forever.

Animal Farm

As sort of a last book to read this semester, I chose Animal Farm by George Orwell mostly because I never had the chance to study it when I was a sophomore. A fairly quick read, I was overall completely surprised with the relevancy that the story holds to human history. The most obvious tie is the rise of Communism. But Orwell explores deeper into the beginnings than just the rise- it takes a group of uneducated people (or animals in the case of this novel) and a very persuasive leader who is able to instill trust upon the followers. Once the leader has talked his way into a more authoritative position, he then adds a military regime in order to protect his "equal preachings" or just outright absurd laws from the public's potential backlash. As soon as the military (or rather threatening dogs in the book) is in place, the preacher of equality for everyone becomes a feared dictator and benefits from the reductions forced upon the public. So it seems as if history prevails in every equal-rights movement and that eventually the system becomes corrupt.

Reading this book made me realize that if a country (the average people inhabiting the region) is not educated enough to realize the rise of a dictator when it is occurring, it is almost easy for it to be engulfed in some type of scheme to benefit the few in power. At the end of the book, it was almost depressing to read that the pigs learned to walk on two legs to better fit in with the human race when the animals worked so hard to separate and better themselves from man. It seems that eventually things will return to their natural state before the up rise and revolt because although history repeats itself, it is nearly impossible to change.


-A. Pruett

TOSTADA analysis of Kubla Khan

Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, is my favorite poem.  From the title one can discern that Coleridge's poem is about Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of China when it was conquered by the Mongols' great land empire.  This is one of the reasons the poem first caught my interest, as Kublai Khan has been one of my favorite historical figures ever since I did a report on him in fourth grade.  There seems to be no occasion for this poem.  Coleridge just had a creative idea and turned it into a poem.  The poem shifts attitudes drastically from the first stanza to the second.  In the first stanza the tone is dreary and trance-like.  The second stanza is suddenly much more serious and dramatic.  The final stanza returns to the dream-like tone while maintaining the seriousness of the second stanza.  The arrangement and wording of Kubla Khan give an impression of exotic wisdom.  It reads a little like something Yoda might say, and feels like something the Caterpillar might recite to Alice in Alice in Wonderland.  The most significant device of the poem is its imagery.  The imagery is what makes the first stanza so calm and intelligent, while the second is frantic and revering.  Contrasting imagery is used for dramatic effect: "That sunny dome! Those caves of ice!" (Line 47)  In addition to imagery, Kubla Khan contains a number of similes.  The Aha! moment is found in the final stanza, where the theme becomes apparent.  In the last lines of the poem, Coleridge marvels at Kubla Khan's great acheivements and wishes he could have done them himself.

-C. Gilchrist

My Sestina

One day Mrs. Elliott asked us to write six words on our paper.  Me being myself decided to make these words really random.  One thing led to another, namely my sestina, "A Lesson":

For dinner I catch a fish
Fresh from the lake.
Before traveling home.
I will cook it on the fire
With no fear of an alien,
For it is not the night.

I mustn't fear the night.
They are so odd, the fish,
Frantically darting in patterns very alien.
It's said something strange hides at the lake.
I hope it isn't attracted to my fire,
A bright disruption to its home.

Meanwhile I need to go home.
The day is becoming dusky night.
As I sit by my fire
Something stalks my fish.
My meal is desired by an alien.
He can't catch any at the lake.

Why did I travel to the lake?
It doesn't feel like home.
To me it is as alien
as to the sun the night.
It is only full of fish
To be cooked on my fire.

Is there more than cooking on the fire
to the piscine souls populating the lake?
Is food the only meaning of the fish?
Like us they call Earth home.
What is the meaning of life and death, day and night?
Perhaps this is known by the Alien.

From the shadows appears the Alien,
suddenly entering the light of my fire.
My foolishness has troubled him this night.
The Alien doesn't want to eat the fish of the lake.
He teaches me why the lake should be home.
It is the beauty, not the flavor of the fish.

That late night meeting with the Alien
By the lake and my fire
Showed me the importance of the fish to my home.




-C. Gilchrist

The Kite Runner

Recently I've been reading the Kite Runner for my independent reading. For those who haven't read it or seen the movie it is about a young boy and his struggles with a childhood friend, their fathers, and later on in the story, his friend's son. The story opens with Amir, the main character, looking back on a story from his childhood with his friend Hassan. Hassan was seen as Amir's servant and not as a friend, although they spent almost all their time together. As the story progresses many tragedies strike Amir and Hassan along with their fathers, Baba who is Amir's father and Ali who is Hassan's father. Baba is a larger than life character who surpasses all others' expectations and does what everyone says he cannot. He is seen as a figure of Christ who later passes from lung cancer. Before Baba's passing, Amir was involved in a constant struggle for his approval. As a child, Amir was more of an intellectual writer and poet, while Baba wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become more athletic and publicly respected. After Baba dies, Amir begins to step in as the savior for the rest of the book which has several more drastic twists and turns that I will do my best not to spoil. Amir has to rescue Hassan's son after betraying Hassan in their childhood and sees that this is his chance to restore honor to his family and make up a mistake he made against one of his friends. Through much struggle Amir actually does redeem his wrongdoing and becomes the image he saw his father in.
As Amir goes through his journey to redemption he realizes what truly matters in life. Although he did not recognize Hassan as a friend when the were children simply because he was a lower class than him, he comes to the realization that social class should not matter and that people should be judged upon character and merit. This book is more than a story about the damages war wages on the civilian population, it is a journey of a man evolving from his shelter of ignorance into the freedom of realization.

Creating a Dystopia and Other Fiction

A couple of months ago, we created our own dystopian society for a team activity.  Team Surreal made "Lucille's" a story about a society where aging past the age of twenty-two and death itself are eliminated.  The protagonist Harrison has a realization about the purpose of life and discovers adverse effects of the "fountain of youth" style technology of this supposedly perfect, yet corrupt, society.

I found the process through which our story was designed fascinating.  We started by choosing a central concept.  Early ideas were a society with no self expression, one with a universal beauty standard that forced everyone to look the same through surgery, and a party society where the upper class is continuously drunk 24/7 and lives off the labors of the oppressed lower class.  We settled for the "problems with a fountain of youth" idea because it had the most immediate depth and theme, making easy to plan around.

After choosing a concept we created three characters.  The protagonist who finds flaws in the society and sets out to change it.  He is assisted by Bernice, who although was put in a sidekick slot is much older and wiser.  The two set out to stop the antagonist Lucille, the totalitarian leader of the society who's fountain of youth system is not only corrupt, but the source of underlying morals dissonance.  (Because people are not dying naturally, the only people dying are the ones Lucille has removed from the system because they disagree, and no one is allowed to have children without her permission.

The final step was to create a plot, which with a concept and characters already laid out, kind of wrote itself.  The Heroes must find a way to remove the fountain of youth system in order to restore humanity to the natural state you and I live in today.

My favorite part of this assignment was the way it laid out a plan for creating not just a dystopian society, but fiction of any kind.  For a long time I have wanted to create my own stories but haven't had an idea where to start.  In creating a dystopia I learned how to put my own ideas of fiction into motion

-C. Gilchrist

So recently we had to do our favorite poem project and it actually gave me some insight into what mindset I should have after graduation. I knew I would be facing many new experiences and the gravity of it had not really hit me up until about last week. This routine that all of us have been going through 5 days a week, for 9 months of the last four years, is going to drastically change as soon as May 23rd passes. I kept telling myself that I would go head on and face whatever problems came about but I know that I cannot be prepared for everything. "To The Dust Of The Road" is the poem that I chose to do my favorite poem project on and felt that it gave fairly good advice on the near future. The poem begins saying that every day will begin almost the same, being quite monotonous, but as soon as one leaves their regular morning routine, they step out into the unknown. After that point, the day is entirely up to you and it is no one's responsibility but your own to make that day count. Another message the poem points out is "and you are one with it until you have/ made your way up to the top of your climb/ and brightened in that moment of that day" meaning that each moment is an accomplishment, but only when looked back upon. The author is trying to tell people to see each day as a victory and to be proud of their actions. Looking back on those seemingly insignificant actions can also motivate you to continue through a current challenge that you are facing. Seeing what you did to overcome the last challenge and realizing that no matter what happens you will get through it will get you through whatever stands in your way. The poem is basically saying to make every day its own victory and that is a good quote to live by.

Social Critique of Fahrenheit 451

For my Dystopian Novel, I read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, named for the temperature at which books burn.

The novel is set in a Dystopian America in the not too distant future.  This America is very violent and has apparently reduced all opposing countries to next to nothing, and lives off of their labors.  The government wants to keep its people in the dark, with very limited knowledge and thinking state.  Censorship is a central plot point, as it is the primary method of controlling and reducing knowledge.

It's not just a portion of books that are censored, however.  All books are outlawed and anyone who is found with books will have their books burned by the Firemen, the enforcers of this society.  Those who try to resist the firemen are burnt along with their books or given a lethal injection by the mechanical hound, a spider-like robot.

The primary pressure on society is the conformity to illiteracy.  Most of society accepts this pressure and follows the rules, But protagonist  and fireman Guy Montag resists this pressure when he comes to see the horrors of his job, and when he takes a look at a book he was supposed to burn.

Bradbury is against the censorship seen in his novel, whose message comes across as a warning against letting any society set up that is similar to the one in Fahrenheit 451.  I agree that it is important for a society to be as knowledgeable as possible because not only is it much more efficient, but also just.

-C. Gilchrist

Byronic Hero

Earlier this year Mrs. Elliott taught the class about Byronic Heroes.  They have characteristics such as being dark, have a handsome or beautiful appearance, they are haunted by sin, they can be brilliant but self-destructive, mysterious, seductive, and they are an outcast.  This particular subject interests me because it reminds me of the various characters in movies that I have seen before.  "Boo Radley" from To Kill A Mockingbird, "Edward Cullen" from Twilight, and also in a way, "Johanna Mason" from Catching Fire perfectly fit the description to be the Byronic hero of their respective novels.  They are seen as attractive young people who seem to be hiding a secret.  They have mystery behind their every move, and this makes them magnetic to their counterparts in their novels.  My opinion is, Byronic Heroes enhance the interest level of novels and make them more intriguing to read.  I will end off this post with my own description of an unnamed Byronic Hero that Mrs. Elliot had us create and write briefly about earlier this year.

"Her long brown hair, frizzy yet in order, graces her shoulders as if she prepared it that way.  A picture of a decaying body inside of a bathtub on her shirt led to her apple red jeans which led to her knock off designer boots.  The boots made a sinister noise with every step she took as she walked towards her ex-boyfriend's house.  Red lipstick dripped down her lips because that is the way she liked it.  Such a perfect figure.  Resembling the body on her shirt, she was ready."