Final Blog

Kiana Gatson

English 10

6/16/11 

 1.       Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

There are never enough words to describe the world I come from. How could I put all the tragedy, and suffering that has happened in my life, in just a few describing words. However, I could give a brief run down on how my life contributes to my dreams and aspirations. I come from a family that works hard, supports my decisions, protects me from danger as best as they know how. A family who appreciates life and know how to live life the best way they can. My family, even though they are hard working and hard competitors in our competitive world, we are not as wealthy as we would like. The storie’s of job abuse and stress that is caused by work has been around in my family for generations. Just hearing these stories about these jobs breaking my family, makes me crumble. How could anyone allow such wrong treatment and still feel as though they are human instead of animals.

My grandfather, the first African American police officer in San Francisco, was blamed for raping a white women, and even though no one could find proof and evidence, and even though the women’s story did not stay the same in the times of court trials, he was still stripped of his badge and permanently fired from law enforcement.  My mother, who has been working at the Oakland Post Office for longer than I have been alive, is treated with no respect or kind treatment. Her supervisors push her around and get her to do any kind of work they feel like assigning her. It is not an easy job. Her rank in the post office seems as though it doesn’t mean anything to anyone. Everything I see and hear from my family’s horrific work stories only causes me to want to help out. It makes me want to bring in some money so that my family wouldn’t have to work as hard as they do. So the struggles and strife surrounding my family is what shapes my dreams and aspirations.

 My future career and my future studies are devoted only to fulfill my dreams of becoming my own boss. Business will be my major so that in college so when the time comes, I can have my own business and manage my own income. As devoted and determined as I am about helping my family with money, I know I will be able to accomplish these goals so they could have a better life, stress free.  To add to the fire that burns within me to try and save my family from the evils that come with their jobs, I already am doing something to help my career; cosmetology school. Receiving my license my senior year in high school, I will be able to have a certificate of completing my studies of hair, skin, and nails.

                So what I plan to do with my life in the future, and all the things I am doing now that will add up to my accomplishments, gives me the courage and the strong beliefs that I will carry out my goals and finish them until I have succeeded and gotten where I want to be. All in all, my family is the main reason why my dreams and aspirations are as they are.

2.       Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

Since I was a young child I had trouble with finding something I was good at. I felt like I had to find something that I liked and that didn’t copy my older siblings, but it wasn’t easy. Coming from such a talented family, I didn’t know what I could do that could make me a unique individual and give me my own personality. One of my sister sings, one raps and produces music, another sister majors in theater arts. My brother is a drawing artist, and the talents in my family are endless. I doubted that I could do anything because I had a set mind that I wasn’t good at anything. I believed that I would fail at whatever I tried to do and my multi-talented family would think of me as a disgrace. So I thought. Not only for a month or two but for years. What could I do that I could be proud of? It took me a long time to figure it out.

Athletics. In my elementary years I finally decided to ask my mom if I could take cheerleading lessons. She let me and I loved it, I loved the feeling being in a cheerful atmosphere.  I won medals and awards I never thought I could win. After that phase was over I wanted to try something new but with the same exciting rush as the sport I tried before. Gymnastics was my next choice. I did that for a couple of years and was so good at it that the first day I joined my team, I was moved two ranks higher because I was too advanced for the first and second ranks. I like to believe that some of my cheerleading experiences had something to do with it. After a couple years passed I developed skills I was amazed with. I won medals for those athletic skills, but when gymnastics was over, I thought back to what I used to think when I was younger. The silly thoughts of me being a failure disappeared completely.

My flexibility gave me strength. It gave me a reason to feel like I am important in the world, and like I could be a threat to anyone who tried to make me anything less of what I am. My achievements gave me the power to realize that my accomplishments made me the person that I am because I noticed that I could do anything I believe I can do. It made me realize that I can achieve the unthinkable if my thoughts are positive and my mind is right. The universe works in magnificent ways and feeds of energy both positive and negative. Life is what you make it.

book post kiana g.

       i think that this book has many flaws and weaknesses because of the many confusing parts in the story. one of the major weaknesses is the fact that he narrator changes the subject every second, never really referring back to the reasons why the subject was being changed. something that really bugged me was how repetitive he is throughout the whole story. he would restate the same points he'd made the last "chapter" did. not only was the story repetitive and seem to change subjects way too quickly, it was also very unintresting.
       many people might think that it is intresting because how the main character/ narrator thought. i do have to admit that the main characters way of thinking was extraordinary. however, when it comes to judging a story, or anything for that matter,   a person should not only focus on the strengths of the book (if there is one at all), but take the strength into consideration with the realization of the flaws and weak areas and add them all up and make a decision based on the outcome of each detail.
    since the story was awkward and boring, yet cool to see the way the main character thought it would be a score of 1 out of 5 overall.

The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time Prompt Blog Post

The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time Prompt Blog Post

The prompt I chose for this blog post is number four: How would you describe the author's style of writing? What's your opinion of the style? i chose this prompt because i felt that it is the perfect topic for this book because the style of writing is very unique and interesting. by coincidence the beginning of this story, the narrator actually explains the style of writing in which was chosen. “chapters in books are usually given the cardinal numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on, but i have decided to give my chapters prime numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and so on because i like prime numbers” (11). 

Since the narrator fancies prime numbers, he decided to number his chapters by prime numbers instead of doing the regular way of numbering. This is only one way his style of writing gives off his uncommon or rare style of writing.

other than his prime numbering, he actually includes diagrams, pictures, reviews from doctors, etc. i think that this is very uncomparable to other chapter books like this one because usually there are no visuals in the books. i think that the reasoning and logic behind this is because instead of just writing descriptions on what was being talked about he just added diagrams so the reader could understand exactly what is being talked about.

He also seems to have a hard time knowing exactly how to stay on track. he seems to switch subjects quickly and it is very hard to take this book seriously when goes from one subject to a whole different one. I do, however, understand why the narrator decided to write the book this way: he wrote like this because it made it more interesting to write, but this doesn’t mean that it would be interesting to the reader. 

All-in-all, this style of writing could be aggrivating to the reader in many ways. Sometimes it could be confusing or it could be unentertaining. I wouldn’t want to read any other books if it had the same writing style as this one.

 

QuickWrite: Joy Luck (Stories)

                                                         QuickWrite: Joy Luck (Stories)

                The first story started happy and ended exactly the same tone: happy and cheery. Although she did tell a part in the story that could have shifted the tone dramatically--how the people’s (neighbors and friends) feelings towards them celebrating when there was a war between their people were spiteful and mean spirited, the tone could have completely gone into something much more depressing. However it was not.
                The second story that was told by her mother, was a more sadder story. Completely different from that of the first story. The things that struck the daughter (even after realizing that the story was changed completely), was that there were still some of the same materials or objects from the story before. For example, the mother told of the mahjong table in the first story, where things were happy, then in the second story, where things were a bit more depressing and gloomy, the mahjong table was left behind due to the fact that the mother did not have the strength to carry it with her to safety. The mother also had two babies, who also, did not carry along with her in her search for safety-- Chinese and Japanese war took place at this point. The two babies also stayed along with the mahjong table. Since the stories were true, as the daughter finds out, I think that the message the mother was trying to subliminally send her daughter through them was that strength and courage run throughout the family. Independence is something that grows within their family is also another thing I think she was trying to send to her daughter through telling these stories.
                 So all in all, I think that she was trying to give hope to her daughter that although there are some bad moments in life there are always chances for good moments as well. Never losing sight of what could be good in the future in those times of bad situations I think was one of the main pictures. Overall, I think that since the mother’s stories always seemed to switch and change up, different messages and morals were supposed to be encouragement for her daugher--to see the strength within her own family.

I believe that this paragraph strongly shows racism, even though i am open to the fact that each person is entitled to his or her opinions. The fact that this author puts Chinese mothers, and their teachings of their kids being successful, ahead of other ethnically different women\mothers, gives off an impression that those other mothers are inferior to those of the Chinese. The paragraph That I chose supports my opinion\ point that Chinese mothers in this article are put ahead of other races mothering skills:
"I'm using the term "Chinese mother" loosely. I know some Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish and Ghanaian parents who qualify too. Conversely, I know some mothers of Chinese heritage, almost always born in the West, who are not Chinese mothers, by choice or otherwise. I'm also using the term "Western parents" loosely. Western parents come in all varieties. All the same, even when Western parents think they're being strict, they usually don't come close to being Chinese mothers. For example, my Western friends who consider themselves strict make their children practice their instruments 30 minutes every day. An hour at most. For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part. It's hours two and three that get tough."
Even though the author does recognize other races as possible canidates for being good mothers, still she is glorifying the mothering skills of the Chinese.

quickwrite orwell. egypt.

       i believe that total dictatorship is the connection  shared between george orwells, animal farm, and the events happening in Egypt. i think that rebellion has similar points in each thing im comparing. In the story, the animals began a revolution with the humans and the farm animals. everything was working out fine between the animals in the beginning. selfishness and a need or strong desire to take control was lurking in a pig named , napoleon who soon announced he was the new head of the farm. napoleon turned out to be just as bad as the farmer who was thrown out of his own farm. so the question of who will rule next is something that applies to the overthrow of egypts dictator and oppressor mubarak. like alexia said, i also agree that these are similarities between the two. “The connections I see between the revolution in Animal Farm and the events in Egypt, Tunisia, and Honduras are the reasons why they chose to overthrow their government/leader. In Animal Farm the animals decided they needed to have a revolution because they felt that the farmers were unfair. In Honduras they felt that their "dictator" they had, Zeleya, was doing things that were unexceptable. The main thing that poeple didn't like was how he was changing the constitution so he could make his term longer. In Animal Farm Napolean does something similar. He starts to eliminate and/or edit the 10 commandments that the animals had originally set together. The reason he did this wasn't because he wanted to make his "term" longer, it was so he would be able to act like a human. Napolean becoming the dictator is similar to the question "who will replace Mubarak?" I think it's similar because the main person that's going to most likely be the dictator after Mubarak is Suleiman. It connects to Animal Farm because after the farmers Napolean became the "dictator" and that's what's going to happen in Egypt. In Animal Farm one corrupt leader led after the other so the outcome of Egypt will probably similar. Something that is also similar is that Mubarak sent Suleiman to calm down the people and that's exactly what Napolean did with Squelar and the animals.”

Debate Opening Statement

My debate topic is Should Parents Be Able To Manipulate Their Children’s DNA.


When any living organism decides to produce offspring, a mixture of both parents DNA are given to the offspring, allowing them to gain a unique set of characteristics not everyone are capable of having. In recent studies, scientist have come up with an idea to manipulate, or change, unborn babies DNA. This method is called Genetic Engineering (GE). Changing a child’s DNA seems unmoral and unreasonably cruel. It is unfair to that child that he or she did not have a choice in the way they wanted to look.
If the GE fails, and diseases are transmitted to the child, those mistakes cannot be fixed. It is, with great knowledge that trying to create traits of an human being by technology can be crucial if not done properly. The health of the child may be risky, dangerous, and damaging to the body and mind.
Already, scientist have proposed an idea of changing an unborn babies gender and eye color, which subtracts from the mystery of what he or she may look like if nothing has been genetically changed. The fun of seeing the outcome of what a baby appears to look like, would be ruined and weird in a robotic way. If every parent were to choose what their baby should look like, many children may look the same. Evolution would be changed. The human race would be one race ethnically instead of plenty. In other words, I believe choosing DNA will decrease human diversity.
I think that this method messes with the work of mother nature--allows man to, once again, control yet another thing, but this time it’s controlling the appearance of another human being. A scientist who studies this method since 2001, Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, stated in one of his long essays about Genetic Engineering: “To incorporate in the genome genes that can offer protection during cryopreservation for long space trips.” This study goes beyond the fact that DNA can be changed. it will get to that odd, freaky point where scientist create super humans.
“Assuming the procedure is safe, I see no reason to stop someone from not only eliminating genetic errors but improving his/her children from an aesthetic point a view.”
“. Besides the obvious
ENDING: I believe that every person has a right to his or her own individuality.life-extension procedures, we might be able to turn ourselves more physically resistant in all sorts of manners. Making our skin and bones harder, making us stronger, improving our stamina, giving us super-intelligence, minimizing pain and overall optimizing our biochemistry.”

What Would Life Be Without Music?

sometimes i wonder what life would be without music. At first i thought that if we didnt have music then life would be boring or less entertaining. A music-less world is like taking a huge chunck of culture out of each race, religion, and background history (like the slaves who made music about their problems). Then i thought that if the human race werent introduced to music in the first place, that it may be normal for us not to have it. You never know what you're missing if it isnt introduced to our knowledge. Same goes for the way we know music to be. Since we (mankind), already know what music is we are used to it and it is normal to us.
            But if we think about a world devoid of music, it is a world devoid of possible entertainment. Take movies for example. In a scary movie, the creepish music that always indicates something bad will happen, adds to the intensity of the movie and how we as people are feeling about the movie. It keeps us on our toes to know that the music means something will happen. Without the music, there would be unexpected surprises that may be tiring to the watchers after a while. Music in movies gives the watchers a sense of how to feel in any genre; Romance movies may have something soft that touches the audience when something touchy in the movie is happening. In action movies, the high paced thrilling music paces the watchers to move at the same speed of what action is taking place. So movies without music leaves the people watching without feeling many of the stressed emotions of the film. Plus one of my favorite kind of movies, musicals, would not exist.
            If you were asked what do most people do while driving in a car, what would you say? Would you say "pay attention to the road," "talk on bluetooth," " talk to the people that may be in the car at the time being,?" Surley what may come to a person's mind is to listen to music. Think of a long drive from Oakland to L.A. About six to seven hours. You are driving alone, left your phone at home, and there is no such thing as music. That sounds boring just at the thought of doing nothing in the car, hearing nothing but motors of other cars on the road. Now at least with music, one can entertain his or herself by singing along to the tunes recognized. Without music in cars, cars would be less intresting, except for the fact one doesnt have to walk or take dirty public transit, and the fact that they are much faster than doing the two.
          Plus what about the activities that work by having music.What about Halftimes, parties, Broadway, Church,Disney movies (most include songs). What about karaoke, musical chairs. They wouldnt exsist. The shows on Television that include singing or dancing; American Idol, Dance Your Ass Off, Dancing with the Stars, Don't Forget Those Lyrics, America's Best Dance Crew. All the shows that are so popular now would not exsist. We would watch sitcoms and reality t.v shows about love, and who wants to date a millionaire (you get the point) --all without music. No ipods, itunes, i-anything. Its screams boredom.
         One of the things that i listed up above that would suck without music is--drumroll please, Church. Imagine sitting in a place for hours and all you hear is talking, talking, talking. Yes, Church isn't supposed to be about the music, but the inspiration of the words spoken, and some churches may not have music. But i cannot for the life of me sit somewhere, other than school, and only hear talking, no music. 
         So a life so dull is the equivalent of a life without music. I guess I answered my own question. =]

FaceBook Respond Post

Response Post To Ruby Rew’s Blog: Facebook Is Annoying

I agree to the fact that facebook is annoying. I don’t go on facebook much but from what I see and hear, FB or facebook is highly addictive. I mean FB is a great way to stay in touch with those people who live further away or who don’t have the time to hang out, or whatever the case may be. I think that FB is like a drug to some people like my cousin for example. Her life at the time being is to check facebook constantly. Just by seeing her on facebook 24/7 is annoying. I refuse to let the FB trend consume me into dedicating my life to checking it every other hour or half an hour. 

Another reason why I think that FB is annoying/irritating is because there is nothing to do on there. I don’t understand most of the apps. Like the poking and food fighting and pets. Whenever I get on facebook which is literally once every two months, I feel that all I’m doing is wasting time.  FB is also annoying because (i know this may sound weird) but because the backgrounds are so plain and simple. The one thing that I liked about Myspace is because they allowed people to personalize his or her profile. 

And like Ruby said, it becomes one main source of communication. Instead of calling someone, most people i know would go on FB just to say something that would take only seconds when speaking it. I find it somewhat funny how people go through all that trouble instead of just calling, with the exception of people in other states etc. For example, my cousin, who lives only down the street from me, always messages me on FB and tells me things that she could have said faster by calling me. 

So when people ask me why i don’t get on FB, I get annoyed because i feel that facebook isnt the main source of communication and It isn’t my life’s main goal, to constantly log into Facebook. That is why it is annoying to me.

Americans and Pronouncing T's as D's

Americans And Pronouncing T’s as D's

My older sister brought to my knowledge that people in America don’t pronounce their T’s in words like butter, panties, metal, bitter, button, better, and with names like Peter. instead, most Americans pronounce the T’s in words like these and replace them with D’s. Instead of butter, most tend to say budder. Instead of metal, medal. Bitter, bidder. Peter, Peder. What I want to know is why most Americans do it. Now that I pay attention to how people I speak to pronounce these things incorrectly, I wonder if they ever think about the correct way of pronouncing them. I also catch myself saying the D’s and quickly stress the T’s. Immediately the person i may have been speaking to laughs or exchanges a humorous expression, usually the side tipping of the head with the added furrowed brows. An explanation always follows close behind. 

In the well known adult comedy cartoon show, Family Guy, the main character Peter, is always up to no good, his name always being called. Peder never pronounced Peter like how it is spelled.  Not only does the cartoon characters say it wrong, the people who does the voices for the characters most likely does the same as well.

Last week my uncle came over and wanted to make some toast. After he toasts his bread, he likes to put butter while the bread is still hot, so the butter would melt into the bread perfectly and smoothly. He asked me as i walked into the kitchen, “Wheres the budder?” I again stopped to explain to yet another person what was faulty about saying D’s in words where T’s are formally placed. 

So in conclusion, not many people know that they, on a daily basis say words that have incorrect pronunciation. It’s something that i think people should be aware of or try to notice. I even caught the president, Barack Obama, saying D instead of T word, and didn’t seem like he noticed. Why is it that Americans don’t pronounce these things. Is it that it takes to long to pronounce all the way?