Reflection

                Senior year is finally over! Compared to last year, senior year has to be by far the most complicated year of all. Senioritis is the worst incurable disease out there that attacks seniors to the deepest part of the brain and body.  Even though we had more work last year, the procrastination vine grew in me and had my brain all tied up. It impaired my reasoning skill at masses. Being surrounded by the best counselors did not help me much. I almost thought that I would never make it through. I can say that my expectation dropped tremendously; when you consider a 70 as a good grade something is terribly wrong. I knew then that something had to change; the vine however was still there attacking the few brain cells I knew I had left.

               Even though it was completely my decision to enroll back in Mrs. Day class, there were plenty of times throughout the year that I desired to call QUIT! However, I stuck to my decision 'till the very end. I guessed having one rigor filled class would have to make a difference. I was wrong my brain is not a temple that can restored in three days.

                Going out to the real world, is going to take sometime to get accustomed to. U of M here I come.

Interview

During this interview conducted by David Savran to August Wilson, Savran tries to uncover the motive behind the tensed play written by Wilson, Fences. Savran asks Wilson about the aggressive relationship between Troy and Cory, father and son. Wilson justifies this relationship by stating that " the father-son conflict is actually a normal generational conflict." It is expressed that by Cory challenging his father, Troy feels as if he were preparing his boy for the real world. As a father in the mid 1980's, which is when the play is staged, Troy feel that his son should learn hands on skills and not skill that can be taken away from him. Wilson, the author of the play, agreed with the ideas portrayed by Troy.
I think that Wilson is foolish to believe that African Americans should not integrate to the rest of America. If they do not then how else do they expect to succeed. Also, for a child to learn he/she should not be taught by aggression.

Tragedy and the Common Man

In his piece,"Tragedy and the Common Man," Arthur Miller, argues that both the "common man" and royalty are subject to the same tragedies. He states that there is no difference in these except for the simple fact that the higher you are in a social scale, the more you are affected by these tragedies. He also discusses the ranking that is given to those who are tragic heroes. "Insistence upon the rank of the tragic hero, or the so-called nobility of his character is really but a clinging to the outwards forms of tragedy. However, later in the piece he acknowledges the fact that "tragedy is necessarily allied to pessimism." Miller expresses his views towards society's definition of a tragedy and argues that "in truth tragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedy and that its final result ought to be the reinforcement of the on lookers' brightest opinions of the human animal."

Personally, I would have to agree with Miller's first couple of views because tragedy hits disregarding who you are. However, I do not seem to completely understand how exactly tradegy implies any type of optimism.

On Minimalist Fiction

John Barth, in his short piece, “On Minimalist Fiction,” states that minimalism is the best way to write a piece. “Minimalism is the principle underlying the most impressive phenomenon on the current literacy scene.”  Barth uses the repetition of “striped-down” and “minimal” to emphasize that minimalism is the best way to go presently.

First and foremost, this was the hardest piece to blog on. I never thought that giving my opinion on something could be so hard. Personally, I think that there is some satire in the first paragraph, yet I cannot fully explain it. I think that the last sentence of the first paragraph is satirical as it states “I mean the flowering of the (North) American short story…” In this statement is seems as if he were mocking North America calling it lazy.

Poetry? Prose?

In his piece, “On the Differences between Poetry and Prose,” T. E. Hulme points out the difference between poetry and prose. He compares prose to a concrete thing in algebra that is “embodied in signs or counters which are moved about according to rule, without being visualized at all in the process.” Poetry on the other hand is seen as the rebellious one because, it “may be considered as an effort to avoid this characteristic of prose.” Although poetry is not a counter language, “it is a compromise for a language of institution which would hand over sensations bodily.” In other words they are both concrete ideas/ object however, prose follows the rules and poetry is more of a visual concept.

My interpretation of this piece would be that prose is duller than poetry. I say this because of the comparison that Hulme uses while describing poetry, [A poet says a ship “coursed the seas” to get a physical image, instead of the counter word “sailed.”]

"On the Dangers of Reading Fiction

In his letter, “On the Dangers of Reading Fiction,” Thomas Jefferson expresses his disapproval towards reading fiction.  He compares fiction to poison and states, “When this poison infects the mind, it destroys its tone and revolts it against wholesome reading.” He goes on to say that because of the embellishments that are put in fiction, the reader then rejects “the real businesses of life” because their imagination has been filled with fictitious ideas.Personally, I rarely engage in reading, yet I do not agree with his views, I would rather read fiction and experience the creativity of the author’s mind than sit and read about how the Europeans took over America, we hear enough of that in school why would I want to bore myself by reading that.

On Close Reading

In the literary piece “On Close Readings,” Peter Rabinowitz argues that close reading is not always the best form to read. He states that “the way one reads also varies from text to text.” He later defends his argument by stating that “different authors, different genres, different periods, different cultures expect readers to approach the text in different ways.”Later in the piece, Rabinowitz expresses his opinion on the text students should be exposed too.

            I agree with the arguments presented in this piece because students should not be forced to analyze all pieces of literature in the same manner. For example, we sometimes come across points, or devices in a text that are superficial  yet we do not catch because we are occupied in finding the meaning to everything and how it relates back to the theme, tone or mood. I also believe that students should read texts that will broaden their horizon.

                    Dylan Thomas, in  his piece "On the words in poetry," describes his first encounter with words and how he became to love them. He states " O did not care what the words said,overmuch, not what happened to Jack and Jill and the Mother Goose rest of them; I cared for the sound that their name, and the words made in my ears." Furthermore, illustrating the idea that one is never to young to appreciate words. They can be appreciated simply by there sound. Later on he moves on to stating," And as I read more and more, and it was not all verse, by any means, my love for the real life of words increased until I knew that I must live with them and in them always..." This meaning that words are not just letters put together to form a beautiful sound but they can be the speakers paintbrush to create a magnificent piece of art.

                    I agree with Mr. Thomas, in the sense that words can be a stupendous palette. They all make different sounds and put together they make an exquisite piece. However, one does not  simply need to hear their sound but know how to use them correctly. If there is no talent then what good are they? They are just blown away by the wind without having a single purpose.

Metaphors, What for?

                     In his piece about metaphors, John R. Searle comes forth with his disagreement on metaphors. Personally I would have to agree with him the use of metaphors is not always necessary. I do not mind them however, why make them extremely difficult to understand like, "Sally is a prime number between 17 and 23." What good can come out of that metaphor? If one does not have a certain intellectual level then it is foreign language. Why can't society stick to similes?                    

                    Yet, I do not close myself to metaphors, even if I find them useless at times, I do have to recognize that metaphors embellish a piece of literature. In spite of this, literature would be much easier to understand without having to figure out all the metaphors and what they mean.

Introduction to Poetry

                In his poem Introduction to Poetry, Billy Collins elaborates on his view that students should enjoy poems. He describes that poems are vibrant and full of life but students decide to just take it literally and forget that there is a meaning behind every word. He states that “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it.” Personally, I believe that he is saying that the poems should not just be broken down because you are told to do so by an instructor, but poems should be read for entertainment during leisure time.

Reflection

           This past year has been filled with difficulties that were hard to overcome yet not impossible. The decision to join this challenging course was spontaneous. Although, AP Language was not as difficult as I thought it would be, my biggest obstacle  was my time management. Balancing my chores, academics, and work was the greatest trouble of them all. 

         The work given to me this year was entirely too much for me. The work itself was not difficult, it was the amount of essays that had to be written. Instead of being proactive by doing the work when given, I became a procrastinator. Therefore, my work was turned in past minute. Yes, I am ashamed for displaying such dissatisfying work ethics, but I plan to better them during the upcoming year.

The Death of a child

Is there a heaven? Is there a hell? Can you have one without the other? How do you achieve the golden ticket to heaven? The answers to these questions vary from person to person. These are questions that might never be answered and proved with physical evidence. However, a question that is indisputable for those who believe in such places is whether children go to heaven, hell, or just linger around in an endless sorrow. Of course the innocence of children takes them on the expressway to heaven.
Although here on Earth us mortals cry because we have lost a sister, a brother, a cousin, a friend that was so young and still had a bountiful amount of experiences to live. We must trust that we gained an angel. The phrase “gone but never forgotten” should be implemented by those who are left here on Earth. We should not mourn the death of a child. You should not wear black to remember a child; one should wear white to represent the child’s purity and ingenuousness.



**In memory of all the children whose physical bodies have left our side, and are now watching from above.**

You Can Control the Future!!!!

What is left for generations to come? Currently we are facing life changing situations throughout the world such as global warming and debt; this leads to uncertainty amongst parents. As the years go by the probability of children not having a secure future increase.

For example, presently the US has had to minimize the amount of money that is available for high school seniors that has been used to help them pay for their college education. As a result of the reduction, requirements for scholarships have increase, making it difficult for graduating seniors to receive scholarships.

Not only have the funds for education been reduced, but also the amount of money available for senior citizens, that has so far been given once he/she decides to retire. Is this really fair? The money that these citizens receive is just a payback of the taxes they payed while in the work force.

As urbanization progresses an excessive amount of trees are being cut down. As we all know trees are vital in the purification of air; without them the air will continue to become more and more polluted. Therefore, causing global warming, environmental decline.

A New Start

Change has brought a new perspective to the Roman Catholic Church. After being reigned by European popes for more than 1000 years, there is now an outsider in charge. After the resignation of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis I, a formal Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has now made history as the first Latin American to become the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

As expected, responses to this election were made immediately. As soon as he walked out on the balcony to make it known that he was chosen as the new leader of the Roman Catholics, there was first an awkward gasp because of the fact that he was not European as expected. However, Pope Francis was not intimidated by the first response, instead he joked about his ethnicity. “In Italian, he seemed to address his outsider status by joking: ‘As you know the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world.’” In response to the pope’s decision to name himself Francis “after the humble Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi,” President Barak Obama referred to the pontiff as "champion of the poor."

Although at first, I thought that the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI was unacceptable because there was no one to directly follow him, as it would be if the president were unable to fulfill his duty then the vice president would take charge. However, with the election of Pope Francis I there bring new views and also some diversity in the history of pope’s.

Will this be enough!

                    It cost the massacre of 20 innocent angels for this country to realize how much danger easy access to assault riffles represents. Finally the risk has been minimized a bit; President Obama has recently signed 23 executive orders,"  which don't require congressional approval -- to strengthen existing gun laws and take related steps on mental health and school safety." President Obama is not only doing what he alone, as president can do,but he is also pleading to Congress if they would reconsider renovating an assault weapon law that ended in 2004.
                     On a more personal level, being that President Obama is a father himself; I believe that he understands how hurt those parents where. Therefore, he made it his personal goal to ensure that things such as this one will not repeat itself. Many may oppose his decision say that it is unconstitutional, but they are not weighing out the possibilities that one day a dreadful event like this one may affect their own family . As our president said earlier today, "This is our first task as a society -- keeping our children safe."

Bash, Dana, Carol Cratty, Jim Acosta, Paul Steinhauser, David Ariosto,

Kevin Liptak Contributed to This Report, and Mark Morgenstein

Updated from Atlanta. "Pushback on Obama's Plan to Stem Gun

Violence." CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Jan.

2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/16/politics/gun-laws-battle/

index.html>.

The Past is Always Present.

          Adolf Hitler, the name of a man determined to purify the world of individuals without "pure blood."  Adolf Hitler himself was not German; Hitler was a native Austrian. However, like many Germans he believed that Jews were the reason why Germany had lost a war in 1918. Therefore, he made it his mission to rid the world of Jews and other impure individuals. The main targets for this task include Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies. Not content with taking their properties, clients, carriers, families, and with that their identities, they were sent to concentration camps.
          As a result of being sent to these camps, killing millions of Jews became easier. They would be tightly arranged in rooms were they would be gassed to death. However, this was not the only method used to kill them. Once the German ambition became out of control many countries allied to fight against them. This fight came to be known as World War II. The Nazi, German Army, finally surrendered on May 18, 1945. Yet, the trauma lived by Jews will forever live.
          On a different note, I personally think that morally the actions that were taken by the Nazi's under the reign of Adolf Hitler was immoral. There is no reasonable explination for why any human would enjoy the pain of others. The misery of the Jews during that period of time has no comparison. Although, this is not an event that should be remembered for its attempt to purify the world and it's atrocious outcome; it should however be remembered for the adversities that made the Jewish culture what it is today.



http://www.history.com/topics/the-holocaust

What will happen to Hostess and its products?

After long years of enduring a harsh struggle for survival, Hostess,the acclaimed producer of Twinkies, has lost its battle. The defeat of Hostess has resulted in the lost of over 18,000 jobs. Grupo Bimbo, a famous Mexican food company, has been pondering on investing their capital by buying Hostess. Grupo Bimbo has been looking foward to buying Hostess for many years. They are now most interested than ever to purchase Hostess because the total value of the company has lessened. A company that was once offered $580 million is now estimated to be worth $135 million. Although, Hostess has been under 6 different management teams the company was still unable to stay afloat. According to Frank Hurt, the President of Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union International, "Had it not been for the valiant efforts of our members over the last eight years, including accepting significant wage and benefit concessions after the first bankruptcy, this company would have gone out of business long ago." To this statement he added that the managment teams failed to have a succesful business. On a different note, Twinkies were the product that made the most profit for the company,because of it's high demand. As stated by a brancupty specialist Twinkies alone made the company nearly $68 million. What will happen to this highly requested snack? Is it truly gone for good, or will the company's buyer continue to produce the scrumptious cream filled cake? "Twinkies May Survive: Mexican Company Grupo Bimbo Looks To Buy Hostess Brand." International Science Times. International Science Times, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. .

Dangerously Sandy

Natural disasters are simply that disasters that happen naturally.  There is no way that we as humans can stop them. However, we have the power to prepare for some, such as hurricanes. By seeking shelter many habitants of the East coast of the US protected themselves from the deadly showers and gusts of wind. Although, having found shelter, the after math of the hurricane was fatal. Sandy, the famed hurricane arrived on the East coasts of the US. As Sandy approach Manhattan, ULMC, University Langone Medical Center rushed to evacuate 300 patients. Meanwhile at a different University, many mice and other lab animals drowned. Amongst, the research that was lost was that of a cancer biologist, Michelle Krogsgard. Devestated by her lost she states, "All the work we did, all the time and money, we're going to have to start all over." Animals, DNA samples and many other instrumental amounts of data have been lost due to the storm and will take many years to recollect it all. • "How Hurricane Sandy Destroyed Years of Medical Research." HowHurricane Sandy Destroyed Years of Medical Research. N.p., 2 Nov.2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. .

My Husband

All women dream about Prince Charming, their perfect mate. The image of Prince Charming as an ideal mate originally came from fairy tales, and a series of Disney characters. This image has been passed down to us generation to generation. Yet, some women are not sure of what it is they are looking for in him. I on the other hand want a real man. One that knows how to treat a woman as if she were his Cinderella, Belle, or even his Jasmine, treats her like an authentic princess. My husband does not ride a breath taking stallion, nor does he wear a shining armor. My husband rides a top of the line car, and wears stunning classy clothing.

My husband is extremely well educated. He has to be in order to maintain a stable and comfortable life style.  He pays the bills, pitches in with the household chores, as well as pays for my college education. Rarely does he leave to play with his cards with his friends. He does not complain because he does so much, and receives nothing at that moment, he knows it will all pay off.

My husband understands what I have to go through in school, therefore he gives me massages to relief my stress. He sometimes even cooks dinners. He does not ask for children, because he knows that my education is more important. Once I get my degree, then the chats about becoming a family will start. However, he knows when I am in the mood for them, and when I am not he is as quiet as a mouse.

My husband knows that when our family multiplies itself he will have to make adjustments to his schedule. He will be with me in every single doctors visit during the pregnancy, I definitely did not make the baby myself, so why should I go all alone? When the babies arrive he will help me care for them when they are ill. Nevertheless, my spa appointments will never be postponed or cancelled.

My husband is unlike anybody else’s simply because he is mine. He treats me like his queen while of course I treat him like my king. Who would not want my husband, he is all any real man should be. He is a bread maker, a nurturing father, a best friend, a faultless lover; he is just all around perfect. Men like him do not exist anymore. Would you want my husband?

Are we all the same?

Gay Marriage, some think it is normal; yet, some think it is immoral. It appears that the president of Chick-fil- A, Dan Cathy, thinks that it is decadent. After making his position about the topic public on a radio talk interview by stating, “we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about,” and revealing that the popular food chain has donated millions of dollars to anti- gay groups, many of his customers had quick reactions. Customers with the same opinion as him lined up nationwide to buy their food. However, those with opposing views on the subject stood outside not because they were waiting in line to buy the notorious sandwich, but to protest against the discrimination they undergo because of the fact they are homosexual.

Discriminating somebody because of their sexual preference is inhumane in my eyes. Its basically going back to segregation years, if you where black the whites looked down on you, the only difference is that this has now become intraracial. For instance, if you are homosexual white, heterosexual whites put you aside as if homosexuality were contagious. Do you think it is contagious? Are we really better than them or are we all the same? These are the million dollar questions that go around the world. The answer to those questions we might never find out!

Hsu, Tiffany, Laura Huatala, William D'Urso, and Los Angeles Times. "Chick-fil-A Fans and Critics Take to the Streets." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 01 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2012. <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chick-fil-a-day-20120802,0,1647505.story>.

McGregor, Jena. "Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy Bites into Gay-marriage Debate." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 19 July 2012. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-leadership/post/chick-fil-a-president-dan-cathy-bites-into-gay-marriage-debate/2012/07/19/gJQACrvzvW_blog.html>