Personal Statement/Final :)

I peered over the edge of the steep San Francisco hill, grateful to be at the top. I stared down at the thick leather of my boots that were now soaked with the day’s rain and worn from my long hike uphill. Each step I took caused my calves to burn and my breath to become increasingly shorter but as I stood on the hill’s edge, panting from the strenuous hike, I was in complete awe of what I had accomplished. I observed my surroundings; I gazed at the city below me and inhaled the fresh air. At that moment I realized that where I belong, at the top.
I have been climbing uphill all my life. I believe that the success of reaching your peak may well be based on the determination and drive within the climber- and how firm and supportive is the base upon which they walk. As I look back, I realize that the challenges I have faced have enabled me to find strength and strong footing within a situation that was not altogether stable.
I am only fifteen years of age, but I feel about twenty years older. I have spent my childhood co-parenting my brother Xavier, who is twelve years of age, and was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two. Since the age of five I have been face with the challenge of having to raise myself and my brother, because my mother had become immersed in the task of protecting him and tending to his needs. I spent the days of my childhood waking up early five days a week in order to ensure that I would get to school on time and then coming home to the public housing complex that was located in one of the worst areas of San Francisco. On most days, I arrived to my home while it was in some state of catastrophe; the house would be wrecked from my brother’s violent tantrums, or I would find my mother in the midst of one of her own tantrums which would come in the form of cursing and calling my never-there father to tell him of his wrongs.
I never knew how to cope with the pain that my home life was bringing me so I allowed it to influence everything that I did. I allowed my life to continue in a manner that was not resulting in anything positive for me and my future was not looking bright. My grades in school were low and I was harboring a lot of anger that I would take out on my loved ones, school mates, and teachers. When I graduated from middle school I was approached with the option to go to a rigorous high school with a specialized curriculum that ensures college readiness. At first, I was completely against the idea of having to go to a school where I will be pushed harder and expected to work harder. I then realized that if I continued working at the same pace I would not become successful later on in life.
I accepted the challenge and enrolled at Alameda Science and Technology Institute, otherwise known as ASTI. I am currently a sophomore and I have learned lessons in my two years at ASTI that I will value for life. I have realized that you have to work through all of the struggles that life approaches you with rather than letting them act as a roadblock. Although things at home have not changed much since I was younger, I have learned to turn those feelings of rage and sadness into a force to keep me climbing uphill at a steady pace.
I desperately needed extra push that I have received at ASTI in order to help myself reach my full potential. I believe that there is something special within every individual whether it be that they are an amazing athlete, talented singers, or hard-working students; all it takes is a force to give them that extra push to assist them in achieving their dreams.
I have not reached the peak yet and when I reach all of the goals that I have sent for myself, I will finally have the opportunity to relax- and be proud.

I wasn't able to find many similarities between my family story and others. I believe that my family story is one that is so unique that it often cannot be matched but a common theme within a lot of our family stories was the courageousness of a family member. For me, it was my grandma Gina who stood up to her family for her son while the family looked down upon her and her children. For John it was the courageousness of his great-great-grandparents who hid a family friend from danger when he was in need. This type of immense selflessness is portrayed in both stories.

Orwell English analysis

Language is something that the human race can not live without. The English language is one that is closely analyzed and used to communicate issues not only in English speaking countries, but all over the world. The English language is statistically the one used the most worldwide and many English texts and audio . The English language has been abused and thwarted in order to create different political and societal views. In George Orwell's speech, "Politics and the English Language," he analyzes thow the English language has been misused all over the world.
George Orwell's proclaims that English speakers have damaged the English language and he goes as far as to call modern English, "ugly and inaccurate," because we do not put time into perfecting and getting the most truth out of our language. Our language, as George Orwell states, perpetuates thoughts that are incorrect because of our lack about the language in which we speak.
I have to disagree with the fact that the English language emerged as a sub conscious development of other languages that already existed. "...The half-conscience belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes." I believe that the English language was one that was probably very closely studied when formed . Although we have created the English language, George Orwell does have a point when he says that we have permanently damaged what we now consider to be the English language. George Orwell speaks of the Modern English which has been altered by slang and other languages that have penetrated into English-speaking societies.
In current times, many people speak in a way in which people have not spoken before. Orwell believes that we have done irreversible damage to the English language.

Cycles in The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club contains numerous cycles that create its complex plot. One of the cycles that stands out the most is one that many American immigrants deal with, and it passed down from first-generation immigrants to second-generation immigrants. The problem of immigrant identity is one that spews many different issues as well as advantages that are generally passed down to their children in a cyclist manner.  When a new immigrant comes to America there is often a language barrier, cultural differences, as well as feelings of isolation. In The Joy Luck Club, Chinese mothers who are first generation American immigrants pass down their intense Chinese mannerisms and views of America to their daughters who are American born. This cycle of immigrant identity problems is one that sparks issues between the mother daughter relationships of the women and their daughters.

Often times the daughters would question the wishes of their Chinese mothers and it would create tensions within the mother-daughter relationships. The story “Two Kinds” examines the relationship between Chinese mothers and their American born daughters. Jing Mei and her mother Suyan Wu went through disaster as Suyan Wu forces her daughter to play the piano to ensure that she would become a child prodigy. The Chinese parenting methods that she encroaches upon her daughter lead to estranged relationships between them, only leading to more separation due to cultural issues.

Parenting & being Chinese & Stuff

I cannot fully condone nor dismiss the "Tiger Mom" method of parenting because it is not one that I have experienced myself. That doesn't mean I haven't formed many, many, opinions.

I have gone to school with many individuals of Asian ethnicity and I think it is safe to say that the majority of Asian students do exceedingly well in school as well as their extracurricular activities (which often are playing classical instruments such as the piano and violin). Honestly, I think the Tiger Mom method of parenting is one that is worth trying, it has been proven to be successful and has turned out many famous scholars and prodigies.  In an article by Amy Chua, the infamous "Tiger Mom" she states:

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences.

This is a concept that is portrayed in the Joy Luck Club story "Rules of the Game" which is a story about a young girl who became a successful child chess prodigy. In the story the young girl tells the story of her mother and how she caused her to stop playing chess due to her nagging and taking credit for the successes of her daughter. I think this shows one of the failures of the very strict Eastern ways of teaching that are practiced by Chua and many other Chinese parents alike. It shows how a little girl can take interest in something and perfect it but with too much constant pushing and prodding can be turned away from it.

There are both peaks and pits of the "Tiger Mom" method of teaching and I believe that Amy Tan does not believe that it is wrong nor is it the optimal way to be parented.

Introduction Story

I believe that Amy Tan used the "Twenty-Six Malignant Gates" introduction in order to reinforce that family structure that is represented within the story. The introduction tells the story of a mother who warns her disobedient daughter to stay within the parameters of their home so that if she were to fall, she would be able to hear her daughter cry.  The mother warns her daughter of the Twenty-Six Malignant Gates which would cause her to fall if she did not stay close. When the daughter speeds off in a rage due to her mother's words, she instantly falls at the end of the block.

Throughout the entire book there is an emphasis on mother-daughter relationships. In the story the true story that the mother tells o shows the idea that the mothers are all-knowing and very wise. The stories told by the mothers throughout the story show that they have had many life experiences that have shaped and transformed them into the individuals that they currently are, as well as teach them how to raise their daughters.

I think another reason why Amy Tan used this introduction was to emphasize the importance of storytelling within the Chinese culture, and to show how the stories are passed down throughout generations. Despite the fact that the daughter does not appreciate her mother’s words at the time, in her adult years, if she becomes a mother she will be able to tell the same precautionary story that her mother told her.

Rebuttal For Elijah

The topic of child stars and more specifically, their behavior, has become open for scrutiny in popular media. With young actors and musicians like Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber, and Selena Gomez acting in shows and singing songs that are marketed towards a younger audience there has been a lot of question as to how they should present themselves. Elijah has formed an opinion that is much different from my own, he said:

Young stars should hold themselves to a higher standard of living because the are supposedly kids role models, i am not saying that they should give up their live but they should try to act a little classy.

 I do not think that these actors and actresses should be expected to act like anything other than what they are- teenagers. I think that the media is to blame for the exploitation of these young individuals, rather than the actors and musicians themselves. The teenage years are the time where adolescents are supposed to be able to make mistakes and learn from them as a part of the journey into adulthood. These young celebrities do not have the same ability to learn from their mistakes and just be kids because they are constantly under the public eye.

These children are not able to have a normal childhood because they have to be fearful of how they will be portrayed in the media. I do not think that putting children in the spotlight in this way is healthy and it has been proven time after time that it does not result in well-adjusted adults. For instance, look at stars like Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan. They all had to grow up in front of the public eye, throughout their childhood they were criticized for their appearance, actions, and career choices.

It is in the nature of adolescents To rebel and make mistakes and when they are under a magnifying glass like the young stars of today, their negative choices (that are typical for teens to make) become known by the young children who watch their shows and listen to their music. I think it is wrong that we blame these teenagers for the way that they are portrayed in the media because at the end of the day, they are teenagers who are still learning and growing.

Maybe I'm so loud because...

First, I've noticed that Western parents are extremely anxious about their children's self-esteem. They worry about how their children will feel if they fail at something, and they constantly try to reassure their children about how good they are notwithstanding a mediocre performance on a test or at a recital. In other words, Western parents are concerned about their children's psyches. Chinese parents aren't. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.

This excerpt closely reminds me of the parenting style that I have been brought up with. My mom had raised me. My mom has raised me to be strong and in some ways, insensitive. In my house if you don’t have a thick skin you will begin to feel extremely insecure and saddened. My mom and I are two people who are very brash and we speak our minds and sometimes we can say hurtful things. People don’t realize that it has a lot to do with the way that she raised me, she raised me in order to not car what others say to me and to make the assumption that others feel the same.

    When I fail at something my mom expects me to bounce right back from it, and I know that it has made me a better and more resilient person in the end. In my family, tough love is a normalcy, and I’m going to do the same with my children. Tough love is an effective way to raise strong children who will be able to handle the realities of the world and to know that people will not always sugar-coat things for you. If children are brought up in an environment where they are given tough love they are better able to respond to the real world.

Chapter 11

Rahni Johnson, Regina Moore
Mr. Sutherland
Period 5 English 10
February 8, 2011

Animal Farm: Chapter 11

One day Moses stumbled upon a young lamb named Lammie who was being terrorized by a group of dogs. The dogs had Lammie surrounded and the situation causing instant silence due to his elderly and stoic presence; they watched as he started to speak and as Lammie ran away in tears.  Moses found this to be the perfect opportunity to get the dogs to help him preach the word of the Sugar Cane Mountain God.

“Okay listen up young ones, I had a dream, like the one Major had way before your time. In this dream the sugar Cane Mountain God came to me, he spoke to me saying he chose me to be his prophet. A prophet needs his followers, he needs right hand men. I am coming to you asking you on behalf on the Sugar Cane Mountain god to follow him, if you want to go to the sugary after life then come join me in converting people. I am your ticket into the glorious after life. So which road shall you choose? Will you go on the road that leads you to a burning everlasting furnace? Or will you choose the road that will take you to the wonderful, bright, always happy eternity?”

    He then walks away, not even a minute has gone by before the dogs take one glance at each other and start to run over to Moses and say, “Yes we want to join you, just tell us what we need to do in order to get to that wonderful place.” He turns slowly with a smile on his face and breaks down to the dogs what he wants them to do. in order to get the followers that will get him into the promise land for animals. They began to walk back to the farm’s barn house to get their rest for the following day where they would put their plan into action.
    They awoke the next day, prepared for what they knew lay ahead of them. They immediately started to preach the word of the Sugar Cane Gods to all the animals that were in earshot of their voices. The news spread like wild fire. They had something to believe in. When
the young animals heard Moses speak they immediately go over to him in respect of him because he is an elder. They gathered around Moses and his minions: the pack of dogs. No one needed to know what he was about to say because he had been saying it for so long. As soon as he started talking about how their lives could be they became hooked on every word that came out of his mouth. even without the intimidation from the that stood behind him and by his side. He had been talking for about ten minutes when the Napoleon and his minions: the pigs and the  humans came out of the house walking on their two legs towards them. Once they got the Moses, his minions and the other animals surrounding him,  they started to trash talk what Moses had to say. It started with Napoleon, “Do not believe him, what he says is all lies, he is old and is losing his mind.”  And after Napoleon said that, the trouble began to happen. Napoleons minions began to back him up which made the dogs react because they were ganging up on the prophet, so they began to bark and before a person could blink Moses sliced the neck of Napoleon and a by standing human.
    Everyone stood by in shock, not knowing what to make of what they just saw. And that is when Moses began to speak again, “This young ones, is an example of what shall happen to you if you do not choose to walk on the path of sugar, but instead choose to walk on the path to destruction.  Instead of me doing this to you, you will feel the wrath of the Sugar God and that will not be a pretty sight.” When he was done speaking all the animals were not even focusing on the dead bodies anymore because they wanted to know what they had to do in order to get to this magical place in the afterlife. By this time all the pigs led by the humans had gone into the house with fear circulating through the blood in their bodies. When Moses knew he had the full attention of the animals and he knew the pigs and the humans were in the house, he told the new followers that only believers could get into Sugar Cane Mountain, and because the pigs and the humans were not believers, something had to be done about them. With the help of the young minded animals they devised a plan to kill off the pigs and the humans, except for one who said he believed and wanted to go to the land of paradise. Moses gathered the dogs is a small secluded area of the farm and advised them of his plan to kill off the animals, it took the dogs almost no convincing to do so, Moses was their prophet and they truly believed that his word was that of the Sugar Cane Mountain Gods. The dogs were ordered to organize in the middle of the night and attack the humans and pigs as they slept but their plan did not go as smoothly as they had thought it would, because the pig who was supposedly a believer overheard what the dogs and Moses were speaking about. He informed the other pigs and humans, they prepared for war. As darkness swept the sky, the pigs and humans went to sleep inside the house feeling prepared and knowing that they would have the upper hand on the fight.
    Justin which was Napoleons right hand man was instinctively put in charge because napoleon was killed. The fight was over before it really started,  Before the crack of dawn the humans and the pigs crept out of the house with their at their sides ready for battle. They made it to the barn when out of nowhere one of the dogs saw them and came charging at them with his hairs sticking up, his ears pointed and his sharp teeth out. He looked as if he was about to have dinner when one of the pigs stuck up the gun and shot the dog in his shoulder and watched as he fell at his feet. The gun shot woke up the whole barn and the only animals to do anything were the dogs and Moses. When the Mr Pilkington and Justin spotted Moses coming towards them they both simultaneously yelled out, “FIRE!” and at that key everyone fired at Moses. When all the gun smoke cleared up they saw Moses laying on the ground with multiple gun wounds spread throughout his body. At the sight of this all the animals came out cheering and thanking the pigs and the humans. Justin stood over Moses and said, “This is a glorious day we shall remember, this is the day when the great Moses the prophet was killed.”

In Hell

    When Moses awoke he felt his body get hot, he started to sweat and as he looked around all he saw was fire, smoke and death. He did not know where he was until he looked up to the “sky” and he saw Sugar Cane Mountain. But that was all he could do was see it, he would never be able to touch it because he was in hell.

POPULATION CONTROL...DUNNNNN DUNNN DUUUUUUUN!

         The population explosion in the last one hundred years is a well-documented, and well-examined subject matter. All sorts of agencies have devoted time and resources to studying, problematizing, and strategizing in order to deal with the threat of overpopulation. Diverse groups, including the United Nations, have developed plans to encourage population control and decreased fertility rates. However, I will say that population control in Third World nations have become an essential component of public policy, and have taken on many forms around the world. However, it seems possible that we are all jumping the gun. What if the population explosion is a self-correcting problem? There is some evidence that global fertility rates are naturally declining, even in areas without family planning and population control.  With fertility and death rates increasing a dropping out of control it is extremely hard to grasp many of the concepts of population control, which is why it is a subject that is not often touched upon.

Population control is such a touchy topic with such a confusing web of answers. When going over answers as to how the population should be controlled it was so...confusing! There is such a fine line between trying to dwindle down the population and violating the rights of the people. After thinking long and hard about population control I think that the only plausible solution is promoting sex Ed and birth control.

There are many other ways to put a cap on our rapidly growing population, but none that can really be done while still being one hundred percent fair and still guaranteeing the rights of the people.

Animal Farm

Power is the easiest thing to abuse. It is the complete control over another individual and it is up to the person who holds the power to decide what they want to do with it. When there are issues of power involved there is often two sides that the situation can be looked at; either the side of the oppressor or the side of the oppressed. There have definitely been situations in the media and in history where there is an aimless need for people in power to inflict harm upon the powerless.

One big question when studying these situations is what causes the people in power to have that power. Sometimes its money, religion, or cultural background. In the case of the book Animal Farm the pigs were able to have power because Old Major was the first person to speak of revolt and defiance against the humans. The pigs might not have a legitimate reason to have power over the rest of the animals but they do because the original leader was "one of them." It allows the pigs to claim themselves as superiors without any real means to do so.

Whenever a group or individual is in power and is not qualified to be there is usually some type of abuse of power going on. Power should only be given to those who have rightfully owned it, or it almost always gets abused.

Hahahahahahaaaaaaaa I Had To..

One day Gumby decided to go to a magical place where bears can fly and owls could bark like dogs. Gumby set forth on that magical journey and never looked back. He didn’t cry, nor did he worry like a bumble bee. His feet skipped about like a careless twit. Along the way he ran into a flower next to the road. As he passed along side of that flower he heard a strange voice call out. Pass me or smoke me, the flower called out. Without hesitation Gumby stopped in his tracks. Leaping back he looked with a great big smile.

Mr. flower why do you stop me here along the way. Everyone knows the magical place is far far away, and I only been skipping this way not a minute of the day. I can see my home, we are not far away. The flower looked up with a gassy burp and said, “Do you know the Flower Man.” If you want a magical land follow me.

The boy followed the flower into the field. As they came to a stop the flower cried out. Cut a piece of me and smoke it to see. A magical place will be ready for thee. The boy took some of the flower and ate it. Gumby fell over laughing and hallucinating a far far away land. With a evil grin and a quick of his shin the flower man was gone waving good luck little man.

The boy dreamed of a magical land far far away. Never trusting a talking flower unless it gives you directions first to a magical land. Gumby has learned a lesson.

College Is Stupid

I know I'm supposed to be writing about the persuasiveness of the seven articles that we read about going to college, not going to college, Ken Burns (?), and some other s**t; but I'm not going to do that. Reading these articles made me think about all of the pretentiousness that surrounds college and college life. There are Ivy league schools, elite schools, universities, fraternities, dorms, parties, and classes. There's a lot to think about when choosing what college to go to. You must consider location, maybe you want to stay close to home or maybe college is your excuse to get as many miles away from your family as possible. It is vital to think about the connections that will come out of going to a certain school, do you want to go to graduate school? Are there resources at the college that will help you the do so? Is going to a prestegious school impotent to you?

College approaches you with billions of HUGE life decisions right after high school where you spent four years making even more big life decisions, it's all very stressful. Collge can be a determining factor that affects the rest of your life, that's a big deal. It can affect the people you meet, the opportunities you have, your financial success, and the goals you are able to accomplish.

College is wack. Itps one of those things you have to do to make other people happy, that's just how the world works.

I've Kept My Mouth Shut For Too Long

I had seen this blog a few days ago and it has caused me to think a lot about style and how much it means to people. I came across a response post that was written by Rokhsor and I had to go straight to the source. She was responding to a post written by Lhadze who was explaining a little bit about what it meant to be "scene" I had to do some research on what that meant exactly because, frankly, I had no idea. So, I turned to my forever loyal friend, Google, to give me the answer and I came across some information that made me laugh...hard (here it is)...(and here is some more).

Let me start off by saying that this is not a post bashing people that choose to be "scene" or dress in that way, I respect them for dressing in a way that they like and I love that they wear a lot of Hello Kitty, but I feel that it is a little strange that there are rules to being scene.

Being scene seems a little bit like a cult. As I was doing some research on what it means to be "scene" I came across a video that made me sick to my stomach (and I refuse to post a link because I would never want to spread such blatant ignorance). In the video a "scene" girl talks about a few girls at her school who also consider themselves "scene," she goes on to bash them and call them posers. She explains that one of her schoolmates should stop trying to "look scene" because she's Black and she should go listen to rap music and leave true scene kids alone, although that isn't bad enough she then explains that there is a group of girls who cannot possible be scene because they are overweight and ugly.  I was ready to smack the "scene" off of this girl's face. As I clicked on more videos I realized that many "scene kids" think the same way and have no problem voicing their opinion.

I don't understand why so many "scene" people feel so strongly about others having the same style, you should be able to embrace that other people want to be interested in the same things as you. A big part of the "scene" culture is trying to cause a scene (literally) everywhere they go by having a very unique and individualistic style, but when there are rules as to "how to be scene" so that you aren't called a poser it doesn't allow a lot of room to be yourself and like the things you truly have interest in.

I personally think that everyone should be able to shape their style in a way that makes them feel comfortable and confident. I don't think their is much individualism within the "scene" community. But hey, who knows :/