Final Blog Post: A Letter

Dear 811,

            This year has been very memorable. A memorable text this year has been Am I Blue? By Bruce Coville. I enjoyed reading this text as it represents the thought that we might not know people as well as we think we do and not to judge others based on their sexuality or any other reason. It shows that we don’t have to be sure of who we are right now, and that’s okay. Another memorable book this year has been The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Reading this has made me think of what kids and teenagers should know about the world and how difficult high school is for some teenagers, but can turn out to be the best time of their lives if they have friends to go through it with. The complex characters of Charlie and his friends have made this one of my favorite books.

            My hopes for reading are that I’ll read more in high school. I want to branch of out my comfort zone with the books I read and read more of different genres. My hope for writing is that it will simply improve as I grow older and write more.

Summer Ideal Bookshelf

  v House of Hades by Rick Riordan 

  v Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

  v The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

  v Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez

  v Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner

Poetry Project

Original Poem: Three Roads

Three roads

A hard decision to make

To take a risk

Or be safe

To walk down a road with green

Or brown with just a hint

To take a risk

Or be safe

A road that’s brown with just a hint

You never know

That might just be

The safest road to go

Reflection: Before writing this, I was looking at the painting Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh and was having trouble with how to write my first stanza. Then I took a second look and noticed the third road was mostly brown and barren but there was just a hint of green that was barely noticeable and that second look helped me figure out how I wanted to write this poem. The literary devices I used were allusion and enjambment line break.

Original Poem: No Regard

A creative heart

Obsessed with satisfying

A society that shows

No regard as a person

As a painter

The Starry Night and a Wheatfield with Crows

Now recognized

But while alive

Disregarded as

Trash.

Reflection: I used the first two lines and the same main idea as Starry Night by Tupac Shakur. Using the first two lines and knowing what I wanted my story to be about helped me write the poem because I had a beginning, which I find the hardest part of a poem to write, and an idea of what I wanted my poem to be about. The literary devices I used include enjambment line break and allusion.

Sonnet: Death of My Friend

I screamed so much my voice just disappeared

The loss of my friend made me want to scream

Happiness left me all alone in fear

I wished and wished it was just a bad dream

My best friend just left me all by myself

No one understands my feeling called pain

All the death was more than I could have dealt

All by myself, I have nothing to gain

The burial was sad enough to cry

The wake was just as bad and made me sad

With all of my tears, crying left me dry

So many emotions that are just bad

My feelings were just those of my sorrow

Happiness I wish I could just borrow

Reflection: While writing this, I found it easier to write every other line and then fill in what I hadn’t. The literary devices I included were internal and end rhyme, end-stopped, and repetition.

Reading Response on Heart Poem

            Vincent Van Gogh is a favorite painter of many. But while alive, Van Gogh and his paintings were regarded as trash. I was introduced to the poem Starry Night by Tupac Shakur in my eighth grade English class during our poetry unit. This poem was my favorite out of the packet my classmates and I were given. The Starry Night by Tupac Shakur portrays the truth that Van Gogh was never accepted by society and was considered worthless during his lifetime.

            The Starry Night by Tupac Shakur has the theme that Van Gogh was underappreciated during his lifetime. In lines 7-10, Shakur says “and though u pour yourself into that fame and present it so proudly this world could not accept your masterpieces from the heart.” Shakur is saying that although Van Gogh poured his heart into his paintings and was so proud of them, society wouldn’t accept them or him. Shakur also says in lines 3-6, “you have given them the stars at night and u have given them Bountiful Bouquets of Sunflowers but 4 u there is only contempt.” Shakur is saying that Van Gogh painted The Starry Night and Sunflowers but instead of thanks and praise, the only thing Van Gogh received was scorn and the belief that he was worthless. This shows how Van Gogh was unaccepted by society and was considered worthless.

            The message of Starry Night by Tupac Shakur reminds me of my favorite episode, Vincent and the Doctor, from my favorite show, Doctor Who. An important part of the episode is to show how Van Gogh would be appreciated and get the praise he deserved after hearing Van Gogh call his paintings rubbish. It was to show Van Gogh that there was hope in staying alive and to keep painting despite what anyone said. Perhaps if Van Gogh was accepted by society, he wouldn’t have committed suicide. 

Vicious by Sara Shepard

            With a girl doing everything in her power to get revenge, Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer are finding their lives difficult. In the book, Vicious by Sara Shepard, a girl named Alison is trying to get revenge on the four girls previously named. With Alison succeeding, the four girls face difficult things such as suicide, guilt, and losing everything they’ve dreamed of or had.

            All four girls are faced with the prospect of suicide. With the possibility of going to jail because of Alison, the pressure is too much for Emily to handle. “Emily couldn’t have really walked into that water. Emily couldn’t have killed herself.” (74). All four girls are being framed for Alison’s murder, when in fact she is alive. Emily has been suicidal before, and it seems she has actually followed through with it. The rest of the girls are devastated by Emily’s death, when they all thought they would go through everything together. With Emily committing suicide, guilt is the only thing Spencer and Hanna are feeling.

            With Emily committing suicide, Spencer and Hanna are feeling guilty for not picking up on Emily’s cues. At Emily’s funeral, Hanna is in shock and is blaming herself for Emily’s death. “How had Hanna not realized Emily was in that much pain?”(74). Hanna feels guilty for not knowing that committing suicide was still a thought in Emily’s mind. Even with Emily acting jumpy lately, Hanna did not say anything and she feels guilty for that. Spencer is also feeling guilty. After a fight with Hanna, that’s all that keeps playing in her head. “…and imply this was all her fault? Didn’t they realize how guilty she felt?” (92). Spencer feels guilty for suggesting that the girls stay in Cape May, where Emily drowned herself, and for not saying anything about how jumpy Emily was, just like Hanna. The girls are being driven apart by the guilt that they feel, when now, more than ever is the time they need to stick together.

            With Ali succeeding in framing the four girls, they are all losing something. Emily lost her sense of safety and her life. Hanna was dropped out of a movie deal she had. Spencer lost her dreams. “She’d gotten everything she wanted only to have it all taken away…” (21). Spencer lost her book deal and her dream college because of Alison. Also, her mother is not paying attention to her and is acting as if Spencer is an inconvenience and a criminal instead of supporting her. Aria has lost her family, as well, in the hopes of fleeing prison. (88-89). All of these girls have lost their reputation. They have all lost the most important things in their lives: their dreams and their families.

            Everyone experiences hard things in life. Suicide, the feeling of guilt when a friend died, and losing everything you have dreamed of or had is still happens in the world today. It happens everywhere and is quite common. These four girls have lost everything important to them all because of a girl trying to get revenge. While reading this book, I realized that the girls seem to be driven apart easily and value their pride so much that they won’t apologize when they are wrong. They also do things that make themselves easy targets for Alison. Although that may be true, the truth will always be revealed and people may not always be how they seem.

1st Draft of Author's Note

Foreword

            Discrimination against black Americans occurred in the 1960’s. Discrimination against Black Americans mainly occurred in the Southern States. Black Americans couldn’t use the same water fountains as whites, the same movie theaters, bathrooms, juries, legislatures (Civil Rights Movement- History.com). Blacks had to sit at the back of buses and had to give up their seats if a white person wanted to sit (Civil Rights Movement- Worldbook Student). A pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. led the peaceful movement to get the rights Black Americans deserved.

             Discrimination against black Americans is still happening today. White policemen killing black Americans for no reason has become an issue. These white policemen aren’t being taken to court for a trial there was recently a march in New York City, where I live, to protest how the Eric Garner case wasn’t take to court and about the what happened in Ferguson, Missouri. I was unable to take part in the march, but this issue is still something that I think needs to be addressed and improved upon.

            I hope for my story to show what happened to those who were discriminated against in the 1960’s. I want my story to educate young children who aren’t aware of these types of things happening in the world. It is my belief that young children don’t understand or know about the issues that occur because of race. I want to show an important part of American history and help younger children learn to not discriminate people because of their differences and to accept all.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare- Synthesis Page

Critical Thinking Question: What really hard things are happening in the text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

Hard Things Happening in Text	Evidence
Neglected Child- This happens everywhere in the world and doesn’t stop.	Sebastian was raised and abused by Valentine. Valentine wasn’t affectionate towards Sebastian and just wanted him to be a soldier. Jocelyn can’t love Sebastian because of the demon blood running through his and all of the things he’s done. (Page 262)
Stereotyping- This happens everywhere as well against homosexuals, black people, Hispanics etc.	The Council, the government of Shadowhunters, thins all who have faerie blood in them will betray them because of the Seelie Court’s, a division of faeries, betrayal. (Page 677)
Unfair Punishment/Judgment- This happens everywhere in the world with parents and their children, teachers and students, bosses and their employees etc.	Helen is being punished because she is part faerie. The Council thinks her loyalty needs to be questioned even though she stood and fought with Shadowhunters against faeries. (Page 677)

New Understandings/ Thoughts

·       I think had Sebastian been raised with Jocelyn and Valentine showed more affection towards him that he wouldn’t have done all of the terrible things he’s done, such as massacring Shadowhunters, werewolves, and hurting families for entertainment, regardless of the fact that he has demon blood running through his veins.

·       I think that the Council is letting the Seelie Court’s betrayal is effecting their judgment and them punishing Helen and stopping the hunt for Mark Blackthorn is a result of this.

·       Things that have happen in the real world can also be carried over and happen in a supernatural world as well. The book isn’t just about fighting demons and rogue Downworlders (Werewolves, vampires, etc.). There are a lot of underlying issues and social issues happening.

·       All of the hard things I listed are a cause and effect sequence. Sebastian being unloved and neglected as a child led him to doing terrible things. The stereotyping and unfair punishment/ judgment come from the betrayal of the Seelie Court.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower : Should it be Banned from School Classrooms?

            Homosexuality. Rape. Drugs. All of these things happen and exist in the real world. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky portrays these topics and more. Because adults find that its content is too mature for teenagers, the novel has been challenged to be taken off of bookshelves at schools. Despite mentioning sexual content, drug abuse, and more, The Perks of Being a Wallflower should not be banned because it serves as an educational text, as it does portray events that occur in the real world.

            One reason why the novel should not be banned is because it teaches teenagers how to communicate with those who come from different backgrounds and have different experiences from them. Garth Stein, an author of a challenged book, says “You’re only diminishing a young person’s ability to go off into the world and interface with people from all walks of life” (qtd. in The Wilds of Education). This suggests that if you ban The Perks of Being a Wallflower because of its “mature” content, teenagers will not be able to communicate with people from different backgrounds in an effective way. You will not understand what they are talking about and might end up offending someone because of your lack of knowledge. In the book, Brad, Patrick’s ex-boyfriend, was brought up with the belief that being gay is wrong. Without any other knowledge or viewpoints of homosexuality from books or other sources, Brad did not know how to communicate with homosexuals, such as Patrick. Brad would get drunk, have sex with Patrick, and claim he did not remember anything (Chbosky 45-47).Brad did not know how to communicate to Patrick his feelings because of his limited knowledge of the situation. This shows that the novel can teach teenagers how to communicate with all types of people.

            Another significant reason why The Perks of Being a Wallflower should not be banned is because it shows different situations that teenager might experience. The book has been challenged because of “profanity…drug use, sexual behavior…” (Banned Books Awareness). These are situations that occur in life. As teenagers enter high school, they are going to start encountering such events as to why the book was challenged. Instead of having a teen walk into a situation like this, not knowing what to do and what decisions to make, why not give them a heads up? Why not let teenagers be aware of what they might encounter? Although adults might think that these situations are too mature for teenagers to read about, they are going to happen. Teenagers are going to find out about these things, whether it is from firsthand experience or a book. In the book, Charlie, the main character, went to a party with some friends, where drugs were being used (Chbosky 34-35). Charlie had no knowledge of such things happening. He had no idea how to react to such an environment and he didn’t know that he was being handed a “pot brownie” when he ate it. He simply thought it was a regular brownie. Teenagers can learn from reading about Charlie’s experience. They can learn what might happen to them and what choices they might have to make in life.

            A last reason why The Perks of Being a Wallflower should not be banned is because it helps teens understand the world around them. Garth Stein said “ …in the eighth grade, he read a book, recommended by a school librarian, in which bullies tormented a kid…it upset him, because it was a situation alien to his own…’It showed me that this happens,’ he explained, with a note of gratitude in his voice. ‘It made me understand’” (qtd.in Bruni). This shows that by reading that book, it made him understand the world better. It made him realize that these things do happen and that they are not just stories or myths. In the novel, Charlie’s brother and sister threw a party. Charlie was in his room, when a boy and his girlfriend came in. The boy started raping his girlfriend, all while Charlie was in the room (Chbosky 30-31).Charlie didn’t know what was happening. If he perhaps had some knowledge of what was going on he could have stopped it, or told someone who could have stopped it. Reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower might help a teenager understand a situation like this and might allow them to help someone while they’re still young and later on in life.

            Despite people saying that The Perks of Being a Wallflower has no educational content, it should not be banned. The novel teaches students about the world around them and what happens in it. The book should be read by ages 13 and up. If people are really opposed to the idea of the book being in classrooms, students should be allowed to get permission from a teacher or a parent saying that they can read this book. Doing this won’t make the book completely inaccessible to students. By banning the book completely, you’re making it difficult for teenagers to access information about the real world that they’re going to need someday.

Works Cited

Banned Books Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014. <http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/05/15/banned-books-awareness-perks-wallflower/>.

Bruni, Frank. “The Wilds of Education.” New York Times.28 Sep.2014: SIRS Issues Reseracher.Web.21 Nov.2014

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York: Pocket, 1999. 30+. Print.

Writing for Social Awareness

Writing for Social Awareness Project

Prompts Chosen:

·       Media/ News Immersion: Watch the news and /or read a newspaper every day. Keep a daily diary for at least five days. For each day, choose 1 or 2 articles/news stories to focus on. Summarize the news story and write about your reaction to it. What does it make you think, feel, and/or know? Finally, write a final reflection on what you learned and realized from the experience.

·        Observe your surroundings (school, home, neighborhood, and media) : Write a list about all the scenes or situations you come across on a daily basis that you think are unfair and/or not right in some way. Pick one of the ideas from your list and write a longer entry about it -2-3 paragraphs. Describe the problem, what’s wrong with it, cause and effect, and possible solutions.

·       Write a reading response on a social issue in a literary work (your independent reading boo, short story, essay, or poem/song) Write a 3-5 paragraph reading response. What problem/issue is it about? What is the message? What does the text make you think, feel, and/or know about the issue?

News Diary

Day 1: There was a story about how hackers can access your credit card information with an app. They just put their phone on your wallet and they can access your credit card statements and pin. To prevent this, you can get a metal induced wallet or wrap your credit card in aluminum foil. This made me think how easy it is to access personal information nowadays. This made me realize how there’s an app for everything and you really need to pay attention to your surroundings.  Source: Good Morning America, ABC Channel 7

Day 2: A news story called Is Love Blind talk how when people speed date, they started putting paper bags over their heads. The reason for this is because the people want focus more on their date’s personality than their looks. This made me ask myself how shallow have people become. Obviously, not everyone is shallow nowadays but I find it very interesting how people need to kind of force themselves to focus on someone’s personality and not their looks. It made me realize that people have to prevent themselves from being considered shallow with their potential future partner. Source: Good Morning America, ABC Channel 7

Day 3:  There was an article online that was about an Idaho teacher who got into a lot of trouble for killing and skinning a rabbit in class while teaching a lesson. The biology teacher was trying to demonstrate how “foot gets to the table”. The teacher is facing disciplinary action after a complaint from a parent. This made me think that this is a form of animal cruelty. Killing an animal for human purposes, unless it’s for food, is wrong in my opinion. This made me realize that there are other forms of animal abuse and cruelty than just hitting and neglecting an animal. Source: NY Daily News

Day 4: In the news, there was a story on how Pope Francis is going to visit America. In the story, the mentioned how some think Pope Francis is working too fast on his ideas on gay marriage. This made me think that if a Pope, a person who is supposed to hold all the beliefs that the Bible says, isn’t’ discriminating against gay people, then why are other? This made me realized that there might be some hope for gays to receive the treatment they deserve since  a Pope is working on allowing gays into his church and getting equality and rights for gays. Source: Good Morning America, ABC Channel 7

Day 5:  A story in the news today was about a mother and her daughter, that was a toddler, was in a department store. The daughter started choking and a teenager came and performed CPR on the daughter. She learned how to do CPR form school. This made me think that the girl was really brave; she took a chance to help someone even though she didn’t know if it would work. This made me realized that anyone can become a hero just by doing a good, kind thing. Source; Good Morning America, ABC Channel 7

A Social Issue in Everyday Life

      Every day, I see at least one person with clothes that are dirty and tattered. I see a person digging through the garbage. I see a person with a shopping cart full of empty cans and bottles. These are the signs that homeless people bear. Homelessness is big issue in New York City. When you walk out of your home, you’ll see at least one homeless person on your way to work, or to see a friend.

      A lot of things could cause homelessness. Whether it’s people kicking out relatives, being a drug addict, an alcoholic, not having money to pay the rent and more. Being homeless, you won’t be able to shower. You may always wonder where your next meal is coming from. You might end up jail for stealing some food or robbing someone for money to buy food.

      Some possible solutions to help with homelessness are if the person is a drug addict or an alcoholic, we could help get them into a program. A program that would help them get sober and find a job and a place to live. If they aren’t, we could still try and help them find a job. We could be generous and give them some money or food, offer them a place to stay. We could also start by building more homeless shelters. With more homeless shelters, the homeless could have places to go without having to fight over a spot at the limited amount of shelters we have. These are some solutions that might help with the issue of being homeless in New York.

Reading Response

            Capital punishment is a controversial topic. More commonly known as the death penalty, some people favor it, while others oppose it. In the article To Kill or Not to Kill by Patricia Smith, the author talks about the decline in the use of the death penalty in the US. She wants readers to know, despite it being legal in the majority of states, the use of the death penalty isn’t as high as its use in the past.

            Smith uses words like “terribly wrong” and “lethal injection” to express her opinion. She also says “high costs.” Smith says “the high costs of carrying out death sentences has been a factor,” while describing why the use of the death penalty has gone down. I think that both opinions on the death penalty are represented. Smith includes opinions that represent why the death penalty shouldn’t be used and opinions on why it should. For example, the article says, “Other death penalty supporters say that capital punishment serves as a deterrent, stopping would-be killers, since they’d fear the possibility of execution.” It also says people who oppose the death penalty say killing is wrong, no matter the crime.

            I think Smith is trying to get readers to think about the use of the death penalty. In my own opinion, I think the death penalty is wrong and isn’t justice. I think no one should play God, meaning they shouldn’t decide who gets to live or die. I also think that killing the committer of the crime would be much easier than for them to go to jail because there are worse things than death. I think the author leans more to the side that the death penalty shouldn’t be used since she uses words such as “terribly”, “lethal”, and “high costs.”

            After reading this article, my opinion hasn’t changed on whether the death penalty should be used or not. I think New York did the right thing by choosing not to use the death penalty as punishment. I would like to research more cases on botched executions (executions that went wrong) and how they went wrong.