It was... I was (Poem)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

If only I was as eloquent as Charles Dickens,

I could easily describe my high school experience

In a sentence

But a sentence with a few words wouldn’t necessarily be enough

To show the emotions I felt

Or the actions I did

During my 4 years at Millbrook

I went from being an awkward, bubbly, baby-faced teenager

To an even more awkward, impatient, and slightly opinionated adult.

I transitioned from wanting to be the center of attention

To finding comfort in solitude and shadows.

I went from being oblivious to global issues,

To reading the news every morning and volunteering every weekend to aide my community.

I still get nervous when I’m forced to speak in front of crowds,

I still suck at math,

I still hate wearing heels,

I still don’t know what I want to do after college (okay, now that’s kind of bad),

And I still misspell more words than you can imagine,

But that’s all okay because I’ve learned how to accept myself

My mistakes,

And other people.

I think learning the way of acceptance is the intended meaning behind high school.

If you take away the stressful exams, long homework, and excess busywork,

The crowded hallways, loud lunchrooms, and slow walkers,

The fire alarms, the cliques, and bullies,

You find that you are forced to learn how to accept others.

And isn’t that what life's about, in the end?

Accepting others?

I think it is.

***
Am I the female Walt Whitman yet?

Messy Handwriting & Imagination

As I looked through Walt Whitman's notebook, the first thing that I noticed was that I could barely read or understand his handwriting. Whitman writes in cursive so the letters and words blend together. This blend in words could also be caused by the ink in the notebook fading as it ages, as well. Also when he writes, the words slant far towards the right. The slant in the words is significant because it suggests that when Whitman wrote, he was always in a rush when writing his poetry. This quickness in writing could explain why the script within his notebook is illegible. In addition to his script, many words and phrase are scratched out by quick, jagged lines and replaced by new words. This quick replacement of words suggests that Whitman is writing his poems in that moment, and that he does not plan or outline beforehand. Whitman wants to illustrate the images that he sees in his head onto paper efficiently, and so he crosses out words quickly. Additionally, Whitman’s messy handwriting and scratched out words suggest that in the beginning, Whitman did not intend to sell his poetry. He intended to keep his poetry for himself and therefore there would be no need to write clearly for others to see and comprehend the poems.

I also noticed that the last several pages of Whitman’s notebook contain various sketches. The sketches that stood out the most were the sketches of a man dressed in different costumes. The man’s face is the same all throughout, but the clothing and positioning of the man are what shows the contrast between the four sketches. Continuing on, the man looks similar to Whitman, and it appears as if Whitman was portraying himself in contrasting images. This shows that Whitman was very imaginative, and this characteristics further demonstrates Whitman’s role as a poet.

After looking through Whitman’s notebook a second time, with the help of NY Times, I realize now that Whitman was not writing a poem, nor did he sketch the drawings in the notebook. Instead, he imagined and created a conversation between Abraham Lincoln and himself. This imagination only emphasizes the fact that Whitman is very creative with his works. He had never met Lincoln, yet he could create an entire dialogue between himself and the former president. Another significance of this conversation is that Whitman expresses his wish for universal brotherhood throughout the conversation. He wishes for unification between citizens and religion. Altogether, Whitman is a very imaginative individual who uses his creativity to explore the theme of universal brotherhood throughout his poetry.

The American Dream

My definition of the American Dream is the ability of having endless amounts of opportunity. This definition is what motivates people of other countries to immigrate to the United States. These immigrants believe that in the United States, each individual has the same advantage of achieving success as the next person, and that each individual lives in a large suburban house with a white picket fence.

I know that this definition is true for many of my family members in Guinea, West Africa. They all believe that once someone moves to the United States from Guinea, they will automatically become successful and wealthy. Thus, the main purpose behind immigrating to the U.S.

However, I think that this definition of the American Dream is becoming clouded by an image of materialism. Similar to the characters and setting of The Great Gatsby, Americans are always perceived as selfish individuals that only care about money and purchasing the most expensive materials and showing them off. This selfish, materialistic image is shown in our TV shows -- reality TV like Love & Hip-Hop and Keeping Up With the Kardashians -- and in our music -- like mainstream rap music. Now, I think that people see the American Dream only as earning endless amounts of money, and being materialistic and superficial.

This now brings up the question, What is wealth? I normally see wealth as having a large fortune, owning a mansion, and having multiple luxury cars. This perception of wealth is influenced by what I see in the media. Most of the individuals who are named the wealthiest people usually fit the criteria that I listed above. Again, this definition emphasizes the image of materialism that is constantly presented in our current society and media.

In addition to that, this constant portrayal of materialism and wealth is unhealthy on society. When people are always shown images and videos of wealthy individuals flaunting their money and expensive materials, they start to believe that they have to be like those wealthy individuals. This might sound positive because now, people will work hard to take advantage of their opportunities and gain success. But I actually think this is more negative than positive. They are not trying to achieve success; they are conforming to what society portrays as the ideal American Dream. And they only want money (though, wanting money isn't always a bad thing...).

Another aspect that is brought up is that wealthy individuals are presented as the ideal, while impoverished individuals are looked down on. Money affects one's status in society, and so those with little to no money are at the bottom of the social ladder, while wealthy individuals are at the top. Personally, I don't want to have a low status in society. I would rather be towards the top, like everyone else.

The American Dream has transformed into a dream that is focused on money and materialism rather than opportunity. This image of materialism is continuously emphasized in American media, and therefore most people, including myself, want to conform to the ideal American Dream. However, this emphasis on money and materialism can create a superficial image of Americans rather than an advantageous image.

Blog Post #12: Freebie

Practice IOC

**The videos look broken, but I swear they're not lol, just click the play button and you'll hear my amazing voice**

Criterion A: I gave myself a 5 because I identified the basic context of the passage and author. I did not, however, identity any context of what was occurring in the time period in which The Handmaid's Tale was published in.

Criterion B: I gave myself a 4 because I talked about the effect of the literary techniques on the passage and the meaning, but I did not relate the effect to the reader.

Criterion C: I gave myself a 3 because my IOC was organized well enough to be mostly coherent, but I think that I could have done a better job of organizing the way I introduced each technique and how I described the passage as a whole.

Criterion D: I gave myself a 3 because my language was good, but it wasn't really elevated. I used sentence structure and tone to analyze the effect as well, but I could have gone more in-depth in my analysis.

Never Let Me Go Book Covers

The four covers of Never Let Me Go are similar in that each cover portrays a sense of solitude.

In the first cover, solitude is presented with the blonde woman sitting alone in a forest. Her head is turned to her left and she is staring intently at the ground. It seems like she is remembering past memories which is similar to the main character of the novel, Kathy.

The second cover has a blurry image of a woman. The woman appears to be dancing by herself, which could be why the image of the woman appears blurry. The third cover presents solitude in nature. There is one boat on an empty lake. Also, the muted, neutral colors used further emphasize solitude. The final book cover shows the torso of a human body and a faded picture of trees in the background.

One difference that stands out is that each of the covers uses different colors to create contrasting moods. For example, vibrant colors such as blue and yellow are used on the second book cover and those colors signify joy and youth, while a poignant mood is created from the dark blues used in the last cover.

This cover seems to present Kathy’s perspective in the novel. Never Let Me Go is written in Kathy’s point of view, and throughout most of the novel, she is remembering past memories of Hailsham, the Cottages, and her life as a carer. This cover shows a young woman sitting alone in the forest, and like Kathy, she appears to be deep in thought and remembering past memories.

This cover illustrates the reality of the clones at Hailsham. In the text, Miss Lucy is one of the few guardians that disagree with the way Hailsham is run. In fact, she continuously tells the students the truth about who they really are. An example of this is when Miss Lucy tells the students that they are “special. So keeping yourselves well, keeping yourselves very healthy inside, that's much more important for each of you than it is for me” (Ishiguro 68-69). Miss Lucy emphasizes the importance of good health for the clones because once they graduate from the Cottages, they become donors. The students are not completely aware that becoming donors is their only fate, however with Miss Lucy’s statement, they are given a glimpse of their reality as clones.

Can I Live??

This TED talk is by the author Isabel Allende. She is recounting her feelings about aging, and what it means to live life fully, every day. Allende emphasizes that it is critical to say “yes to life” and to “stay in love” (Allende). In the beginning of the Talk, she starts off by questioning how we know that we are aging, and then she begins telling the audience of what she has lost and gained in the past decade. After a funny video of a child mediating, Allende then begins describing that internally, she feels desirable, but because she is 71 years old, society does not see her true feelings. She also brings in examples of other older women who feel as she does. Finally, she tells the audience of how she lives her life enthusiastically and passionately, despite being an older person.

In order to emphasize her feelings, Allende mostly uses pathos. When she lists off that she has lost “people…places, and the boundless energy of [her] youth” in the past decade, she ends by stating that she is “beginning to lost independence, and that scares [her]” (Allende). Many individuals in the audience can relate to this because losing people, whether it is by ending relationships or someone passing away, is inevitable in life. Losing a place (whether it is tangible like a home, or in tangible like one’s status in society) is also relatable because as humans, we are always striving to achieve a higher goal. With this ambition, it is certain that we could achieve and be in a better place, or we could lose and end up in a low, negative place. Losing youthfulness is also inevitable as we age and become more dependent on others. This use of pathos allows for the audience to relate deeply with Allende’s loss of people, places, and energy because loss is inevitable as humans age.

One thing that I enjoyed most about watching this TED talk was Allende’s emphasis on living life passionately. I have always been a strong believer in the phrase “live life to the fullest extent,” and Allende’s want to live passionately is very similar to the phrase. To me, this phrase means that every day, you should live your life fully because you never know when you are going to die. I try to live my live fully, but I do not think that I have been succeeding. Instead of living a full life without any care for other’s opinion, I conform to society’s standards. In order to live life passionately and fully, you should not have to conform.