How being an immigrant shaped my life......

This was the reading I felt defined an American for who they were, not because of of where they or born or how they have adapted to the culture here. This woman carried many traditions with her throughout her life and I feel she should be considered an American.

People come to America from other countries for a better life, and that's why she came. Her family moved because of the start of World War II. So that alone should qualify her. But she goes farther, as she continues to celebrate her heritage while residing here. That's what America is. It's simply a very diverse place where many different races, ethnicties, and cultures clash together and live among one another.

She and her family are Jewish who fled Germany before things got bad for them. Being the committed people that they were, and not giving up their beliefs, they remained Jewish and proud here in America. Just because there was only a minority of Jewish people, did not persuade them to convert.

This is what being an American means. Residing in this country, while holding onto your cultural beliefs to make America a 'melting pot'.

How boring would it be if everybody was Catholic or something? No thoughts beyond that.....No 'what ifs?' as to questioning religion. Not even being totally unaffiliated with religion...

King Still King?

Is Martin Luther King Jr. still influencing our society? Of course, the King is still King. He has made such an impact on our society many years ago, and we still see the effects later on. In my opinion, he and Rosa Parks did it all. They opened the doors for the narrow-minded people. Way back when, when Rosa Parks sat in a white person's seat, they started something so revolutionary, that it stuck with America through the generations. This is....de-segregation. They have started us on a never ending path of un-segregation. This path goes on and on forever, as we hope to stay like this. Here in 2011, I think we can agree that we have done pretty well to stick to the ‘path’.
The King is still the King because he took charge. He took charge the way a leader should. And he is still remembered today because of that. He is also famous for his ‘I have a Dream Speech..’. The King is still King because of his ability to talk to the people. If he was truly a king, the people would feel more connected to him.
Obviously, even in today’s society, we want someone who will listen to us, somebody who understands our lives. As my last statement, just a recap of what I’m talking about…….
The King is still King because what he did is still with us today.

Krik? Krak!

Children of the Sea had to be my favorite reading so far. It was interesting but still defined. As a reader, I thought it was the best example. This is because, by telling a story like this, you go into detail to  the point that you know everything that's going on...or most of it anyways. As opposed to a poem or short passage like some of the other readings, this longer passage told an almost complete story. Another way that this was an effective way of writing, is the fact that the entire story was a series of letters from a man to a woman. I'm pretty sure neither of them ever received any of them, but they keep writing to each other faithfully. I thought it was horribly romantic. The horrible part about this, was the impression it left on the reader at the end. It leaves us to think that the male character dies at sea when the female hears of another shipwreck discovered. That is also where the letters end. But thinking about this, the corrupt government would prefer for the people of their country to believe that they did become shipwrecked in order to try and prevent others from trying to escape the country. The relationship between the father and daughter also somewhat improves. She goes from thinking of him as selfish and mean, to a man who gave everything he had for her. Which is exactly what he had done.

Music Review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEPB7uzKuh4

Okay, so I chose a song called Watercolour by a band named Pendulum. I had never heard of them, or the song.
I went to youtube and typed in unlistened to music. :P Yes, it's silly, but it worked :) And plus I like watercolors :)
When first listening to the song I was doing other things. I was doing homework or whatever. The point is, I was listening, but not analyzing it. So, the song went on and I thought 'Wow, this is a really sucky depressing song.' Can you tell I didn't like it? Well I didn't. I decided to stick with it though solely for the reason that I am said to change my mind so often about stuff that people could not keep up with me. I wanted to prove them wrong. Even if it only was for this silly blog and for this one time.
The next time I listened to it. I was laying in bed and I analyzed it but did not watch the video.
The lyrics seemed to match the morose and depressing mood to it.
Pendulum is probably very emotional. The song is about fear and getting away from where he is at. It can be tough to deal with life at times, but you have to stick with it and get it under control. While watching the video for this...it gets worse. It just brings it together to some up the depressingness. It is drab and gray. Literally, there is a lot of gray and dark blues. Colors can really make a difference. Suddenly there's a beam of light....and from there, it gets better :) the video makes a difference in how you visualize it. So, enjoy :D

Jay and Nick

Nick Carroway. Who is that? Well, thats the main character of the book we seem to be following. Nick is a very approachable person. He's the person that if you got lost, you would ask him for directions, not the scary guy next to him. Nick is known for this quality because so far, throughout the book we see many characters, who have little knowledge of who Nick is, approach him. Some of these people being Tom and Daisy. Tom and Daisy hardly know Nick, yet they invite them into their home.
Jay? Who is he? I think he was hardly mentioned in this book. Oh, wait. That's Gatsby! The man of the book. We first meet him at the party. And not just the party, but his party. He is the rich man who throws parties every so often.......But,  many people don't see the reason of his tolerance for uninvited guests, since that's what most of them are. He tolerates them because he hopes one day the girl of his dreams will show up. Wait, isn't she already married? Yes, she is, but she knows her husband is cheating on her. She obviously stays with him because she could never give up the luxurious life that she lives. The question is.....Couldn't Gatsby provide better for her? Wouldn't it be worth it. I think yes. :)
Nick is sort of like the middle man here. He is asked to monitor their relationship. He is asked favors from Gatsby. But is Gatsby's friendship a fraud. Is it a faux friendship only supported by the fact that he needs Nick to help him with Daisy? Yes. It is.

winter poem

Glittery,
The snow that falls from the sky,
twinkles and shines.
It twirls in the air,
Flittering about,
It lands nice and softly,
where it slowly begins to melt away,
It melts to water,
And where does it go?
It trickles away into the cracks in the ground,
It is absorbed by the dirt and then dried out by the sun,
The process begins again,
The snowflakes have the same semblance,
but if you look closely you will see,
just how different the flakes are,
There intricate designs,
seem something of a detailed emroiderer,
Seeming to perfect every detail,
but yet, never making any two quite the same.
The beauty of snowflakes,
is a mystery to all,
why do we adore something so cold?
It gives us comfort to be able to love this,
if we feared it,
Where would we be right now?

Thankful for a classmate

First of all, Happy Turkey Day!
I am thankful for many things. My family, friends, house, food, and everything. Among these things are my classmates.
I am thankful for Kennedy. She helps me in this class. She helps me study and is always there to help with questions I don't get and vice versa. She's also my bus buddy :) We ride the 62H together when she's by her dad's. She doesn't live that far and also came to my graduation party. :)

I am thankful for Helen. Helen also helps me in American Lit, but also in Chemistry.
I am thankful for Jiayin.
I am thankful for Ben.
I am thankful for just about everyone in this class, but it would be pretty boring if I listed the names.
The point is, I'm glad to have you guys in my life. This is going to be a class to remember. :)