This quarter I have seen myself prevail greatly in my writing during the first quarter. In my blog I have been able to write about topics that are extremely interesting and thought provoking which has allowed me to produce writing that I am truly proud of.
I am inspired by social issues, events that occur in my everyday life, and anything else that I find to be interesting. The best thing about the bolgs is that you are able to write about these topics without having a grade attatched to how well the piece flows or how many grammatical errors it contains. My blog has been very therapeutic for me because I am able to express myself through writing in ways that I am not generally able to in most writing classes. The “juicy” topics, although they are the most interesting, are usually the topics that a lot of people do not wish to discuss because it makes them uncomfortable. Thought provoking topics are the easiest for me to write about because they are usually the topics that I have the most to say about. I use my blog to show deeper sides of me and to express the thoughts that are not always appropriate to speak about, posts about the government, teenage pregnancy, and race relations are the types of posts that fill my blogs because they are the ones that allow me to freely express my emotions on political and social issues.
When I go to my more structured Writing classes I do not have the same experience because those writing classes are a lot more based on writing skills than self expression. When I go into my writing classes where very straight forward writing is expected from me I crumble because the topics that I am provided with are not ones that give me the inspiration to write because I find the topics very dry and uninteresting. When I am put into these kinds of situations i begin to question my writing and I start to feel as if I cannot produce good pieces of writing. When I am assigned an essay that is not motivating I am more susceptible to writing and essay that is not as good as I would like it to be because of the topic and I begin to drift away from the topic in my writing and I end up creating pieces of writing that would be shameful to turn in.
I think that the forms of writing that are presented to myself and my fellow students puts a damper on my creativity and causes me to write things that are not as good as I would like them to be.

Night essay

Night

In many mainstream religions its followers rely on a savior or out-of-body-god that is all powerful and is expected to lead the way; yet, people are discouraged when heinous acts of violence are committed throughout the world and they wonder why God would let that kind of evil occur.  Even the most devout believers ofter question God and his (or her) power throughout their lifetimes. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel he realizes that he must rely on his own internal faith rather than an  himself to keep his morale strong. Wiesel’s experience in the concentration camps causes him to depend on his own strength and beliefs.
Wiesel starts out as a deeply religious individual, he reads from the Cabbala and describes prayer as an act that is vital to his very being, such as eating and drinking. When Wiesel is asked why he prays he replies with, “Why do I live? Why did I breathe?” It is obvious that he was was a young man whose life was very influence by religion, as well as all of his decisions. He believed that god had all the answers and would guide throughout life without problems nor complications. He states simply, “Man questions and God answers,” which is the belief of many followers of religion because they wish for someone to solve their problems and give them answers.
When Wiesel is sent to the concentration camp he instantly feels a loss of god. He feels helpless and he no longer feels as if there is a god to save him from the atrocities that are being committed against his people in the concentration camps. He is afraid and there is no god or anyone to save him from what is happening to him. He stops praying because he wonders why god who is only supposed to be about love and kindness would allow such things to happen on Earth. He become angry at God and does not feel as if he owes him any praise or recognition because of what happened in the camps.
After time passes Wiesel realizes that he must rely on his own internal strength to keep going on through life in the camps. He no longer prays to god, rather he is his own god, leading the way throughout his struggles in life. When Moshe the Beadle states, “You can find the true answers...only within yourself.” Wiesel exemplifies this exactly, he guides himself and he survives throughout his years of experiencing the horrific acts that take place in the concentration camps.
Overall He has lost faith within an external god and realizes that he must depend on himself in order to go through life.

My Macbeth Essay, haaaaaay!

 I am extremely proud of this essay! After a long hard year of Ms. Valdez telling me "No Mija, you don't get it," I wrote this essay and received an A (for those of you who had Ms. Valdez last year, you understand that receiving an A in her class was near impossible). After writing this I knew that I had grown as a writer and I could finally feel confident about my writing.

                                      Macbeth: A False Portrayal of Women through Literature

Individuals in current society are unique and have different ideals, mannerisms, and lifestyles; the ways in which people differ in their customs is something that is celebrated.  In the early 1600s this was not the case. Women were not able to be authentic or contradistinct to the accustomed stereotypes of what men thought they should be.  The play Macbeth was written in the early 1600s by William Shakespeare; it reflects the social turmoil of the times and set a precident for the struggles that women were experiencing during that era. In Macbeth, Shakespeare immortalizes the general opinion of women at that time.

            William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy of Macbeth in 1607 for King James of Scotland and his elitist aggregation, and it reflected many of the ideas of the status quo. King James had extremely particular views on women, he was a firm believer in witchcraft and he was convinced that if women did not carry out conventional feminine duties they were evil and participated in the supernatural. Due to King James and his reign, women were treated inhumanely, their role was to be a sex object and a maid. Women were denied basic rights that men were granted; such as, receiving an education or being able to choose whom they marry. The burden of the average woman was to be a caretaker; her job was to tend to the house, cater to her husband, and bear children. The average woman’s demeanor was expected to be timid and extremely tame and it was not ladylike for a woman to produce her own thoughts nor her own opinions. The way in which women are depicted in the story Macbeth, is a direct reflection on social ideas of women at the time, the few women that are shown in the play are shown as devious and immoral, especially compared to the valiant male characters that are depicted throughout the play.  In the tale of Macbeth the women seem to have an adequate amount of power and prove that: if women are able to be expressive or offbeat they will turn into ruthless monsters, or better yet, witches.

            The women delivering the news of great success to Macbeth were not given names, rather they were just dubbed as “The Witches.”  They are unmarried and involved themselves in the supernatural, and were women who had not settled into one place, rather they roam like gypsies with one another; these women were portrayed as evil and conniving beings that were ugly and wretched. When Macbeth and Banquo were first approached by this group of witches, Banquo comments “What are these/So withered, and so wild in their attire,/That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' earth,/And yet are on 't?. . ./You seem to understand me,/By each at once her choppy fingers laying/Upon her skinny lips. You should be women,/And yet your beards forbid me to interpret That you are so (1.3.39-47). Banquo is not only acknowledging the physical flaws of The Witches, but he is stating that they were ungodly creatures who could not have been regular people like himself. I think it is important to state the fact that Shakespeare decides to make these characters female, to represent them as evil temptresses luring Macbeth and creating chaos in his life and pushing him on his downward spiral filled with betrayal and evil. The fact that these are female characters that did not confine to the stereotypes of what society thought they should be, creates an extreme that represented King James’s ideas of women at the time. The Witches were also shown as untrustworthy and seemed to have enjoyed Macbeth’s pain and suffering. They speak of prophecies that are only “half-true,” The Witches tell Macbeth that he will live to be undefeated and he will have an uninterrupted reign as King of Dunsinane. Through an apparition The Witches tell Macbeth, "The spirits that know / All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: / 'Fear not, Macbeth; no man that's born of woman / Shall e'er have power upon thee" (5.3.4-77). The Three Witches are telling Macbeth that he shall not be slain by any man born of woman, and Macbeth thinking the obvious: that all men are born of women, instantly assumes that he is undefeatable and will be triumphant in his reign. When Macbeth is eventually killed by Malcolm who is not technically born of woman The Witches are shown as guilty for the false hope that they give Macbeth and are depicted as deceitful even though they were accurate and honest in their predictions. Shakespeare made it out to seem as if The Witches planted a seed of a calamity in Macbeth’s mind, but in actuality The Witches only reinforce Macbeth’s sick desire for power and superiority. This portrait of crooked women is not only shown through the general stereotypes of witches, but also through women who were supposed to be prim and demure.

             Lady MacduffMacduff and a definite member of the high society,  was depicted as an untrustworthy woman who betrays her husband in his time of need. Although her love for her husband and family is evident , when she learns of her husband leaving her for affairs in  England she tells the murderers- people who she does not know, that her husband is a traitor (4.2). She is another piece of a reoccurring theme that appears throughout Macbeth, portraying women as untrustworthy, corrupt, and conniving. Although she is only a part of the play for a very short time, she is still shown as an individual who must not be trusted.

      Lady Macbeth was the wife of Macbeth, a gentlewoman who was assumed to be representative of the ideal woman of the times. No sort of erratic or eccentric behavior was to be seen out of any woman, especially the high class women of Shakespearian times. Lady Macbeth was the complete opposite of what masses claimed she ought to be. She did not fulfill the duty of being a woman of the times, she was not the soft spoken nurturer that she was expected to be an agent for, rather she was depicted as untrustworthy and evil. She was shown as a devious creature with a ruthless aptitude for evil. She says, “I have given suck, and know/ How tender’tis to love the babe that milks me. / I would, while it was smiling in my face,” Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/ and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ have done to this’ (1.7.62-67). She is saying that if she had to, she would savagely beat her own child to death without remorse nor hesitation. She shows this in the most radical example when she completely shuns what should be the woman’s most sacred bond: the bond between a woman and her child. Lady Macbeth is shown as cold and heartless with no sympathy for typical human emotions; she feels that archetypal feelings are signs of weakness. When Macbeth informs her of The Witches predictions of his future kingdomship she fears that he is not apathetic enough to do whatever it takes to become powerful and to become king. She claims, Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promis'd. /Yet do I fear thy nature, /It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness /To catch the nearest way (1.5.15-18). To Lady Macbeth “the milk of human kindness” is a distasteful and abominable substance, especially for a man to obtain and express in his general demeanor. Lady Macbeth is heartless, and is fearful that her “milky” husband does not have what it takes to be able to “catch the nearest way,” which in this instance, is killing the current king. Throughout the story we see Lady Macbeth lead her husband on a chaotic journey through murder, dishonesty, and betrayal. Through Lady Macbeth’s ways we are able to relieve Macbeth of the blame for his actions and point the finger at Lady Macbeth, although the atrocities Macbeth committed were his own.

                  Throughout the play of Macbeth we see women depicted in a negative light. They are not shown to be loyal or brave like their male counter parts. They are shown as witches who want nothing more than to bring men down, Shakespeare chose to show women in this light to please the masses and show them how women were not to be trusted. The conniving actions of the women in Macbeth allow the reader to blame them for the tragedies that occur even though none of them are the direct cause. Women were the underlying force behind the plot of Macbeth and they are shown as seductresses of evil, attempting to lure the men onto paths of evil themselves. Shakespeare does this to show women in a certain way, and to project his ideas on society.

In Response To Aleah's...thoughts.

While browsing through the blogs I came across an interesting post written by Aleah.  She says:

So every since I was born I have attended private or Charter which have all been under 400 students...But in my opinion I believe the amount of students or the type of students in a school can change you. I've gone to schools were education was exspensive but hard. Where the Minimum was that all the teachers expected you to excede, and they gave you tools to do that. As a result I do my work just becuase, I am so used to it about now. If I went to a public school I would still do my work the same exact way; and at the same time ever night.

As an individual who has spent her whole life in public school I would just like to state that public school is not all that it is cracked up to be.  Also, let me just state right now this not a post where I am going to jock ASTI and tell you about how it is the greatest school in the world with no drama...not true. There are days where I would love nothing more than to go to a "regular high school," but I am thankful that i go to ASTI rather than a school like Berkeley High, Oakland Teach or Encinal.

I spent three years in a stereotypical public middle school; there were fights, couples, bullies and clicks. In the midst of all the middle school drama I forgot the real reason I was there: to learn. I wiggled my way through middle school without doing any real hard work. Teachers at my middle school would be amazed if you even completed the work, and I think it is needless to say that not much was expected out of you as a student.

When I arrived at ASTI I thought I could get away with having the same work habits (or lack thereof) that I had attained through middle school, let's just say I was greatly mistaken. My freshman year at ASTI was rough...I mean hella hella rough. My grades went from okay, to bad, to worse, to disgraceful. There was no place that i hated more than ASTI, I dreaded waking up in the morning, I loathed every aspect of the school to pieces. Now, looking back I can see that I did so badly at ASTI  because my middle school years didn't mold me into the self-sufficient and hard-working student that you must be in able to achieve success at ASTI.


My Freshman year at ASTI whooped my ass (for lack of a better phrase) but I'm glad that I got to have that learning experience. ASTI provided an environment where I could actually learn and work because that is all there is to do here at our humble little school. Being at ASTI has allowed me to focus on my grades being the best student I can be. At ASTI we do not have the distractions that come with going to a typical public high school. Which in the end is beneficial, although it may not seem like it today.

Soooooo...good luck this year to all the new freshmans, and I know I'm a bit late, but welcome to ASTI (and I promise, it gets easier).

Stolen From Cindy's Blog

I like doing these types of things because they truly are challenging, and, yeeeah. I'm definitely going to skip some of them.

Day 1 — Your Best Friend
Day 2 — Your Crush
Day 3 — Your parents
Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)
Day 5 — Your dreams
Day 6 — A stranger
Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush
Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend
Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet
Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to
Day 11 — A Deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain
Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you
Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from
Day 15 — The person you miss the most
Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country
Day 17 — Someone from your childhood
Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be
Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad
Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest
Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression
Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to
Day 23 — The last person you kissed
Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory
Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times
Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to
Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day
Day 28 — Someone that changed your life
Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to
Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

Condoms Are Cheaper Than Babies

If I  have to see another teenage girl get pregnant before she is ready, I'm going to become a nun.

We are all at an age where are hormones are ALL OVER THE PLACE. Our bodies are telling us to be sexual, and that is nothing but normal; but teenagers definitely need to be more responsible with their bodies. Teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections among teens are at an all-time high.

I feel that there is a direct correlation in the way in which pregnancy is portrayed in the media (especially teen pregnancy) and the alarming pregnancy rates among young girls. Pregnancy has become a societal fad in recent years. It has been glamorized,, and I would like to put one show on the spot..."Teen Mom."

MTV, why are you turning these young women into celebrities? Why?!

When I first starting watching "16 and Pregnant" (which was the show that Teen Mom originated from, for those of you that have been living under a rock for the past year) I understood its educational purposes, the show acted as a big bright red flag that read: "Don't Have Unprotected Sex...This Could Be You!" As the season progressed I saw an undeniable recurrence in the lives of these young women: the father of their child would be neglectful or not in the picture at all, the girls would have to drop out of school or attend some type of alternative schooling; overall, they just didn't seem ready to have a baby. I understood that MTV was making an attempt to show that there are severe consequences to having unprotected sex, which is a great message to portray to teens.

BUT...

Then came "Teen Mom."

I have no idea why this show is aired on national television. What is its purpose? Does anyone know? I sure don't. This show is just a way to make money off of these poor girls who have made bad life choices. MTV  is not helping these girls nor are they helping the thousands of girls who are in the same predicament, they are simply using them as cash cows so that we can be entertained as we sit in front of our television sets. If MTV really wanted to help these girls, they would give them the resources to be able to continue on with their lives and be the best mothers that they can be.

If you have seen "Teen Mom," you know that it is captivating. It is like one of those bad car crashes where you don't want to look, but your eyes are still glued on the overturned car that has become a blazing inferno. It is that bad.

Teen Mom needs to be cancelled, eliminated, extinguished. If you're going to have sex; please be safe. If you are going to have unprotected sex; please don't go on "Teen Mom" when you get pregnant. Bye.