Final Presentation

http://prezi.com/egxdehucfrr-/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

First Presentation

http://prezi.com/9fn0zz0r-v9w/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

What to think about while listening to the auditions:

• Does this person sound familiar?
• Is there natural talent or potential for talent (could they succeed with or without the help of a manger, voice coach, etc.)
• Does this person have anything in common with any other artist (including the others who have 'auditioned')
• Would you consider investing in them

Masterpiece interviews

• What are you working on?
• Working on getting to know other journalists, going to go down to LA to meet up with an upcoming artist to interview her. 
• Why?
• She wants to do entertainment journalism so she's tryin to get a feel for it. 
• What is the significance of this project in your life/career?
• She loves writing and wants to pursue this as her career.
• How do you see this work helping you in life outside of school?
• Preparing her for her actual profession, getting the experience now.
• Has anything surprised you in your work?
• Yes, a famous person talked to her!
• What do you need to successfully complete your project and present it?
• She needs to get her interview questions together.
• What have you learned that's worth teaching someone else?
• Be presistent, don't be a dumbass, have good manners, and reach out to others even when you doubt your confidence.

Connections

I didn't want to post this yesterday because I was hoping for more interactions and moments that would remind me of my masterpiece. 

My first "moment" is when I was watching a vine and I noticed a girl using a book called Everything You Must Know to Suceed in The Music Business. 

Walking in the hallways I heard a group of girls talking about wanting to post covers to YouTube and this reminded me of how a lot of talent scouts find talent! 

I was having a casual conversation with a friend when she started talking about music festivals and wanting to go to a bunch of concerts and this reminded me of my future which sort of relates to my project. I think I heard music and immediately was reminded of my masterpiece. 

Listening to Pandora an Ad came on for 

Online music business schooling. This one obviously relates to my masterpiece. 

Literature Analysis #3



The Night Circus

1.  The Night Circus is about a magical traveling circus that is secretly hosting a competition between two magicians who have to prove who had the better teacher. Their reward? Life. The only way to win is to survive. Celia, a little girl whose mother dies when she is only five years old is taken to live with her father who is also a magician. He is known to be the greatest of his time, when Celia is introduced to him, he immediately doesn't like her. She gets mad at the way he treats her and she uses her 'powers' to break his hot tea cup. This intrigues Prospero, her father. Her father then sets up a meeting with an old friend and it is them that arrange the competition between Celia and Marco (the chosen competetor). The two do not know who they are competing with until Celia catches Marco performing and then everything starts to crumble. The two have fallen in love and now they are refusing to continue the competition knowing one of them will die. The problem with just stopping the competiton? The circus and the people in it will die off and the two lovers won't be the only ones suffering the consequences.Celia figures out a way for the two to live together and keep the circus running without letting anyone else get hurt. Celia and Marco kill themselves, but find a way to stay in spirit and keep the circus alive.
2. The theme of this book is very similar to The Hunger Games themes, anything and everything over love, to die with you would be better to die alone, a competition for survival.
3. The authors tone is bitter and knowing. The author has a lot of sass and you can see that in the main character Celia, the most. She makes it seem as if she were using her story to vent out her hate for someone and her longing for another.
4. Foreshadowing:

In the beginning Marco explains that he loves to love and he loves to be in love and it always happens so quickly, but he doesn't know what being IN LOVE is really like, therefore he'd do anything to be with her. This is setting up his attitude towards how is going to feel about Celia and the situation they get put in having to kill eachother.

Prediction:

Celia grabs the wrong umbrella, but she notices that the umbrella she did grab has some sort of spell on it and this is how she discovers and predicts that Marco is her challenger.

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Direct characterization

Celia: The author directly explains how she looks feels and acts. There is no asuming or guessing on how she felt towards something, the author is very direct with her.

Marco: The author also explains everything Marco feels directly and we know from the very beginning how he looks and what his morals are.

Indirect characterization

An example of this is a teenager named Bailey who is brought up very little and then at the end becomes the protagonist all with one feeling. The author indirectly tells you that Bailey has this passion and dedication towards the circus that will essentially save everyone. The author then refers to two twins who live in the circus and will be helping Bailey save it. This is dropped by hints such as dreams and fortune tellers.

The indirect characters are all the smaller characters that we don't get to read about directly.
2. The authors syntax changes when she concentrates on a different part of the story. The novel jumps around from character to character and you can tell whose side of the story it is when the sentences get longer or shorter and the it goes from first person to third person.
3. The protagonist is very round and dynamic, he starts off seeming useless to the storyline, but then their is a plottwist and it all starts to make sense. It is part of his destiny to either save or destroy the circus and it all comes down to one decision; does he chase after a circus or give up on it all together. He chooses to chase after it and that is his first step to saving it. 
4. I did not feel as if I had just met someone after reading this story. I think that because the storyline was something I was not use to and compeletly unrelatable I had trouble connecting to any of the characters due to the whole "I'm a magician fighting for my life against another magician whom I'm in love with and I can't kill him because I love him" theme. However, I understand what it is like to not want to do something because the decision is too hard to make and it might hurt someone else. Overall I didn't make any easy connections with this book, too ficitonal and unrealistic.

Is there an expert in the house

What will my expert look like? 

Someone with determination and patience 

Someone who has delt with and experienced the crazy Hollywood life

Someone who can handle criticism and let downs, who can turn that negative energy into a motivator

Someone who knows what they are talking about and how to turn their words into actions

Someone who is not self centered, but looked upon as a mentor and a giver

Someone who is on top I things

Someone who isn't afraid of being the underdog 

Someone who knows how to achieve their goals 

Someone who does what they do, because they love it, not because they want money

This someone will be admirable 

10 Questions

1. How do you keep up with what's new and who's new and the style people are really into at the moment?
2. When you were just getting started how did you create your network of people needed to help you become what you are today?
3. Who did you seek guidance from to help set you on the correct career oath?

4. What influences you to do all that you do?

5. Where did your passion for music business come from?

6. When did you realize you wanted to work in the music industry? 

8. What about the industry is the most stressful?

9. Would you suggest managing more than one artist?

10. What would be the hardest part of your journey to achieving your career goal? What major obstacle should I prepare mself for? 

HAFTA/WANNA

For a while I just kept repeating the title of this post over and over again until I realized that the answer to your question about differences you see between life during high school and life after high school is in the title itself. In high school everything is a have to (hafta) and we don't do things the way we want to. We do things for a grade which 90% of the time means manipulating the system somehow and figuring out ways to pass that one assignment, but does that information stay for as long as it should? No. We have to learn things to pass a test which eventually won't matter to us. The difference between after high school and life in high school is that we do things we want, take the classes we need and want and sure there's still that sense of 'you have to take and pass this class' but this time it's really for your long term benefit and not just a grade for a class so you can graduate. No, life after high school will be tricky and hard and frustrating and stressful, but that's because we have this new freedom to want things we can actually have. And god doesn't that just amazing? Going from being locked up and forced to go to school everyday to having a choice. No we won't magically transform into adventurous butterflies right after graduation. We may not even discover our wanna part till our second year of college, I think that's why it's common for students to go to college with an undeclared major, they've got to adjust to going from having to, to wanting to.

Launch

Well it's about damn time I got some wifi so I could update this blog. I've been wanting to share my launch for a while now and it gives me goose bumps, hoping you all love what I have to share just as much as I do. What do I want to do? Easy, study the background journey to fame. Sure we all know the story of  "I came from a small town and was found by my manager who helped me share my talent with the world." cool okay so they hit a lucky streak. What I want to learn and get a feel for is how a their manager can find that talent and trust and invest and dedicate their entire life into creating this superstar who came from a small town. I want to know the managers story and I want to create my own. For my project I'm hoping to find locals who I believe can really become something through their talent. It's so obvious that every project is going to need connections, I'm going to need to expand my network and ask and look around for those very talented musicians.  I want to learn about business marketing, promo, advertising, music management and talent scouting. I'm really interested in the behind the scenes action and I already have a lot of experience with that. I'm more than prepared  for my project and I'm totally open to making more connections with the other people in class. Are you musically talented? Let me know, I'd love to manage you.

Lit Analysis #2

The Fault in Our Stars

1. This story starts off by introducing you to the narrator and other main characters. There is Hazel, who is telling the story and there is her mother who is overprotective and there is Augustus, who changes Hazel's entire life. Hazel is a sixteen year old girl with thyroid cancer and has mets in her lungs. Augustus is seventeen who had recovered from osteosarcoma. They meet at support group and Augustus finds her to be very beautiful. Hazel isn't use to boys complimenting her and she immediately befriends him. They eventually become really good friends who know each others likes and dislikes more than their own parents. Augustus falls in love with Hazel and works on getting Hazel to say it back. Hazel doesn't let herself love anyone because she looks at herself as a ticking bomb. A grenade that is going to explode someday and she wants to minimize the casualties. Never did she think she would love a grenade, and never did she think she would be the casualty.  The purpose of the narrative is to make you feel as if you are reading a true story, like Hazel is their in support group telling you all about her hard times. 
2. One theme is the fear of oblivion. Augustus has this fear of oblivion which helps you distinguish just how scared of dying he really is. He is obsessed with wanting to do things heroic before he dies, he wants to matter even after he is dead.  
3. Hazel is very straight up, she tells it like it is in a very snarky way. An example of this is when she says " That particularly galled me, because it implied the immortality of those left behind: You will live forever in my memory, because I will live forever! I AM YOUR GOD NOW, DEAD BOY! I OWN YOU! Thinking you won't die is yet another side effect of dying."  She is also very funny when what she is saying shouldn't be something you laugh at because in reality it's just so true and upsetting. An example of this is "I didn't tell him that the diagnosis came three months after I got my first period. Like: Congratulations! You're a woman. Now die."   This also makes her cautious and considerate. She never wants to make people pity or worry for her. "I'm like a grenade, Mom. I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay? I'm a grenade, I just want to stay away from people and read books and think and be with you guys because there's nothing I can do about hurting you; you're too invested, so just please let me do that, okay? I'm not depressed. I don't need to get out more. And I can't be a regular teenager, because I am a grenade."
4. Irony
Isaac who is a friend to both Gus and Hazel has a girlfriend who he thinks is the one "Always is their thing. They'll always love each other or whatever." eventually though, his eye sight goes and his girlfriend claims she can't be with him because of it. So their 'Always' doesn't last forever like they claimed it would. " Always was a promise. Sometimes people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them, but you keep them anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway." She promised him always, but couldn't keep it. 
Foreshadowing
Referring to the quote above, Augustus tells Hazel their 'Always' should be the word 'okay' because they always say that to each other when they have nothing else to say. Of course this implies that Augustus will always love Hazel. 
Foreshadowing
"I'm a grenade..." Hazel refers to her I'm a grenade quote throughout the entire book, but as soon as she lets her guard down and accepts one more 'casualty' she realizes that she is the one loving a grenade. "I couldn't be mad at him for even a moment, and only now that I loved a grenade did I understand the foolishness of trying to save others from my own impending fragmentation: I couldn't unlove August Waters. And I didn't want to." She keeps her promise and always loves him. 
The author creates this giant plot twist by making it seem like Hazel is going to die and we will have to watch Augustus suffer from another girlfriend death, but instead he dies and we watch Hazel love him always. 

CHARACTERIZATION 
1. Isaac is an example of direct characterization. We don't know what he's thinking nor do we get any serious story line for him, we just know what we are told. Hazel's mom is also a good example of direct characterization. All we know is what we are told by Hazel, there are not multiple characters telling us any information about her mom, it's just the narrator, Hazel. Hazel and Augustus are examples of indirect characterization. Hazel, who is the narrator is not the same person she was at the beginning of the book, so her analysis of her character changes. She goes from being really sheltered and careful to living and lovely openly and freely. We get to read her thoughts and almost feel her emotions. Augustus' actions are what define him. He says nothing, but sweet things to Hazel.  I think the author uses both approaches so you make a better emotional connection with both Hazel and Augustus. 
2. The authors syntax changes when in conversation with another character, but other wise both the syntax and diction don't change or vary. 
3. The protagonists in this story are all the people and they're very dynamic. The antagonist would be the cancer and everyone it effects, even the people who don't have the cancer are still effected by it.
4. After reading this book I found that I had attached myself to the characters as a person who knew their love story, but didn't know them personally. They didn't like to friend people mostly because people would always pity them and they didn't like being around those types of people. I did however fall in love with their love story and felt as if I understood completely how she felt. She would always love him even long after they both die, she would still love him. She promised him always in beginning of the book and ended the book the same way a marriage, a promise begins with an 'I do' and that line affected me the most. "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have get to have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers." and she follows that quote by Augustus with an "I do, Augustus. I do." 

My Vocabulary #1

Pincer: A maneuver in which an enemy force is attacked from two flanks and the front.
Market Cannibalization: Market cannibalization refers to a situation where a new product "eats" up the sales and demand of an existing product.
Incontrovertible: not able to be denied or disputed.
Curation: The act of curating, of organizing and maintaining a collection of artworks or artifacts; The act of curing or healing; The manual updating of information in a database
inherently: in an inherent manner; "the subject matter is sexual activity of any overt kind, which is depicted as inherently desirable and exciting"
entrenched: (of an attitude, habit, or belief) firmly established and difficult or unlikely to change; ingrained.
"an entrenched resistance to change"monetizing: convert into or express in the form of currency.Jettisoning: throw or drop (something) from an aircraft or ship."six aircraft jettisoned their loads in the sea"permutations: a way, esp. one of several possible variations, in which a set or number of things can be ordered or arranged."his thoughts raced ahead to fifty different permutations of what he must do"Novelty: the quality of being new, original, or unusual."the novelty of being a married woman wore off"trajectory: the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces.anomaly: something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected."there are a number of anomalies in the present system"inconceivable: not capable of being imagined or grasped mentally; unbelievable."it seemed inconceivable that the president had been unaware of what was going on"paradoxically: in a paradoxical manner; "paradoxically, ice ages seem to occur when the sun gets hotter"discrepancies: a lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts."there's a discrepancy between your account and his"extricating: free (someone or something) from a constraint or difficulty."he was trying to extricate himself from official duties"paradigm: a typical example or pattern of something; a model.
"there is a new paradigm for public art in this country"
Niche: a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment.

Lit Analysis Spring #1

FICTION ANALYSIS #1

1. In Looking For Alaska, Miles who is going to be starting as a junior in a new private school called Culver Creek, has an obsession with remembering people’s last words before they die. He becomes great friends with his new roommate and finds himself hanging out with whoever his roommate hangs out with. His newly made friend helps me understand how the school works. The school is known for its risqué students, prank pulling teens and its evil swan who swims in the lake. Never smoke near the lake. Miles is introduced to Chip’s (his roommate) group of friends. This is where Miles meets Alaska. Alaska’s power over Miles is strong the minute he lays eyes on her. Imagine finding a person who is everything you’ve ever wanted, but she isn’t interested in you the way you’d like for her to be. That’s Miles relationship with Alaska. He chases her, she giggles and flirts, but she has a boyfriend and he ends up heartbroken. Alaska is complicated and Pudge (Miles nickname) well Pudge is that adorable, naïve nerd who falls in love with a lost soul. Alaska, Pudge, Chip and Takumi all get themselves into huge trouble one night by drinking away all their problems. This same night Alaska calls her boyfriend and when she returns back to Pudge she is distraught and not herself. She asks everyone to help her pack because she needs to go. The group doesn’t know what’s going, and them being so intoxicated didn’t realize how unsafe it was for her to drive in the night drunk. She leaves and the next day Pudge and Chip are informed of the terrible accident. Alaska died in a car crash. Pudge takes it hard and can’t seem to move on. In the end the group decides to pull off one last prank in memory of Alaska. The Alaska Memoir Prank. This book was split up in befores and afters. Before meaning before the accident and after meaning after the accident. Before the accident Pudge knew everyones last words, after he wished he didn’t.

2. The themes in this novel are the concept of death, understanding life and death, more to someone’s life than what we see, loving someone endlessly, friendship and regret.

3. The author’s tone is always thoughtful, unsure and regretful. The tone is thoughtful because Pudge is always over analyzing everything, never wanting to get into too much trouble. The tone is unsure because Pudge never knows what choices to make, a lot of the time the choices he makes are because Chip or Alaska have told him to. The tone is regretful because a lot of the time Pudge regrets the things he does, one of those things being that he helped Alaska leave the night of her crash essentially leading to her death.

4.

·         Foreshadowing: When Alaska and Pudge first meet Alaska makes a comment about Pudge and Chip smoking, she says “You guys smoke to live, I smoke to die.” She makes a statement about not wanting to live and for the first month of Alaska’s death people had assumed she committed suicide because her boyfriend had dumped her, but she had actually just crashed and was on her way to visit her mother’s grave.

·         Foreshadowing: Alaska says “from a hundred miles an hour to asleep in a nanosecond” and this foreshadows the way she dies.

·         Metaphors: The swan and Alaska are similar in the sense that they both have had troubled pasts and have both hurt Pudge.

·         Figurative language: “If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane’”

CHARACTERIZATION

1.       Pudge is an example of direct characterization. The author tells us what we need to know about him as soon as the book starts. His roommate is another example of direct characterization because Pudge has all these thoughts on his roommates appearance and attitude. Alaska is an example of indirect characterization because she is so mysterious and you have to take the time to communicate with her to get a sense of what she is like. Even after the story ends there is still so much unknown about Alaska. The author does this to show how unfair it is for Pudge and the rest of Alaska’s friends to have lost her before they could fully understand and know her.

2. The author’s syntax and diction never change based on a character. He uses long detailed sentences to explain Pudge’s thoughts on everyone and everything.

3. The protagonist is very dynamic. He has an epiphany at least twice in this book and this has created the character to be very round. Pudge may seem average, but you can see him change as the story progresses, he matures and becomes more aware and less naïve.                                                                                            

4. After reading this book I felt like I walked away from meeting Pudge and the rest of his friends. I felt a personal connection with Alaska and when she passed away I almost had myself convinced I was dealing with a real death in my life. The ending of the story ends with a quote that had me feeling almost every emotion possible, the quote is “So I know she forgives me just as I forgive her. Thomas Edison’s last words were: ‘It’s beautiful over there’ I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful” 

Vocabulary #1 Performance Review

I think I did decent, but I could have gotten a hundred percent for sure. I have trouble putting the words into sentences, but I know the words. 

Vocabulary #1

adumbrate- to foreshadow vaguely.

apotheosis-  elevate to divine status

ascetic- practicing strict as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline

bauble- a small ornament (trinket)

beguile- to lead by deception

burgeon-  to send forth new growth

complement-  something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect 

contumacious-  stubbornly disobedient

curmudgeon- a , ill-tempered, and usually old man

didactic- designed or intended to teach

Research Paper

Veronica Cavazos

Dr. Preston

Expository Composition

November 9^th, 2013

Research Term Paper

            I grew up in a society where everyone believed racism only existed in the nineteen hundreds. Society believed that because we all have the same rights, we are all equal; making them believe racism has vanished. It is now, ten years later that I realize, it will probably never be ‘vanished’. I have also realized that a lot of American’s don’t realize this, most Americans are in denial.

            There is a new type of racism. This kind does not just revolve around the typical White man vs. Black man stereotypical argument. This new kind involves every race, every human and the ignorance that our society has. We are ultimately surrounded by racism every day. What is racism exactly? Well isn’t racism just ultimately one giant opinion taken the wrong way? “Individuals who have beliefs and ideas that could be defined as racism can reduce the problems in society by keeping those ideas in their minds and homes. People are certainly free to believe what they want to believe and even to say what they want to say. But when individuals take these beliefs to the next level and act out in public and against others, racism becomes a social disease.” (Racism In America: Racism Is A Disease That Needs To Be Cured) There are certain phrases that should not be said in public, and there are certain actions you just don’t do in public. Why, because some people take things the wrong way. I’m not saying all people are accidentally being racist, I’m just saying most people don’t even realize when they are making fun of a race. “Racism has become somewhat of a “hidden” issue today, even in well-known cities across our nation. Americans know that racism still exists and persists, but it’s easier to pretend that everyone believes that “All men are created equal.” (Racism In America: Racism Is A Disease That Needs To Be Cured) So how do we stop someone from being racist when most don’t even realize they are doing it? In other words, how are we going to get rid of racism? Stop talking about it. Stop calling people by what they are. Don’t refer to Barack Obama as a black man, and don’t refer to Joe Biden as a white man. However that’s just too easy and society doesn’t work that way.

            “Racism is not just a viewpoint, but rather it’s a disease that is often left untreated because of misguided stereotypes. There is no cure for racism because it is fueled by ignorance.”   (Racism In America: Racism Is A Disease That Needs To Be Cured) Most racist actions are often just stereotypical judgments made by someone of the race being ‘made fun of’. A YouTube video called Racism in America: Episode Three helps explain this point. In this episode, two men are hanging out, one black and one white. The black man picks up Madea Goes To Jail and asks the white man if he wants to watch the movie. The white man declines his offer and the black man automatically jumps to conclusion that the white man is being racist and doesn’t want to watch the movie because it is a black film. However, that has nothing to do with why he doesn’t want to watch the film and he is being accused of being racist for no good reason. Just because a white man doesn’t enjoy all black made films, doesn’t mean he doesn’t like black people.

“Here are some of the stereotypes that fuel racism: African-Americans are more violent than white Americans, and they commit more crimes. Most African-Americans “milk the system” and live off of welfare. African-Americans deal drugs. African-Americans are illiterate and uneducated. Here are the realities: The criminal justice system in the United States is flawed and racially biased. African-Americans are more likely to serve prison time than a white person even when the same crime is committed. A higher percentage of white Americans receive welfare than African-Americans. White Americans deal drugs too.”(Racism In America: Racism Is A Disease That Needs To Be Cured) In this article the author makes it clear that most racial judgments are just stereotypes, and our society runs off of stereotypes. This is what makes racism a new kind of racism. The article We're not racists, but we're not colorblind: Column states “We don't have slavery, lynching, or whites-only bathrooms anymore.” We don’t have those things, but we still have the idea of discrimination against certain races which is just as bad. We connect areas with people by the color of their skin. An example of this would be asking a brown person if they are a legal resident here in the United States. These types of judgments are not only offensive, but completely wrong. All of our lives we were told to not judge a book by its cover, yet the older I get the more and more I notice adults doing just that, they judge.

Americans are judgmental, and they all believe they have the right to their own opinion, but they are wrong. Sure they have the right to their wrong opinion, but they can’t declare something is okay, but it’s their opinion. We as a society make judgments of what is okay and what is not. We filter out the bad or sometimes just ignore it and we keep the good. This is why it is hard for some people to admit that racism still exists. “It's really hard to actually be colorblind with strangers. You can probably forget that your friend is black, hispanic, or Indian. But when a stranger or a rough acquaintance enters the picture, race probably subconsciously enters your judgment of that person.” (We're not racists, but we're not colorblind: Column) I completely agree with this statement because I know that I too have done this. This`1 column went on to add “If you decide a certain character on the subway is sketchy, it's often for reasons you can't fully articulate. Clothes, demeanor, grooming, posture all matter. And sure, you'll be more wary of the leering tatted-out white dude than the black guy in a suit on his iPad. But skin color probably plays a role in your subconscious, even if it's not always the deciding factor.” Racism is something that is subconsciously there in the back of your mind. Everyone does it, but we don’t do it to purposely offend others. When you are being racist to offend someone is when it should be considered hate speech. You shouldn’t be able to get away with saying anything offensive to someone who is colored just because you believe you have freedom of speech.

Racism is everywhere. In schools, online, in businesses, in neighborhoods, it is worldwide. Racism will always exist. Black males will always be eyed at with suspicion more than white males. Asians will always be considered smarter than every other race. Mexicans are all dirty workers. Arabs are terrorists and white people are rich, stuck up snobs. These are the typical ‘racist’ stereotypes. Everyone makes a judgment about a race. Everyone. “So, if you say to a black person, "stop acting as if your race matters," you're asking him to be color-blind in a society that isn't.” (We’re not racists, but we’re colorblind: Column) “Despite decades of social change and progress, a Duke University professor told students racism still exists among white people, just not as overtly as it did many years ago.” (racism the same today as in the 1960s ) Is this not another racist remark? Saying it exists among white people is false. It exists among everyone. Racism is worldwide, it is not just white people contributing to the hate and racial speech, it is everyone.

A popular example of racism existing in places such as jobs, government related trials and most recently courtrooms would be the Travon Martin Trial. “Nowhere, was there an ounce of evidence that the man who shot Travon followed him, reported him, or defended himself against him--even for his very life--based on the color of Travon's skin. Yet "civil rights 'leaders'" manipulated every element of fact in the case to convince the sleeping media that the man who shot Travon was racially motivated, racially biased, and hateful of races different than his.” (Why American Racism Is Impossible To Defeat) It is so obvious that Travon was only a huge threat because of the color of his skin. It’s there subconsciously in the back of your head, you won’t admit it, but we all have those racist thoughts once in a while. We do sometimes make those false assumptions, some just do it on purpose and others don’t even realize when they are doing it. Some people assume that because I appear to be white, I have lots of money, nice clothes, no problems in the world. People assume I’m some rich white girl, when in fact I’m poor and Mexican. I am proud of my heritage and I am offended when people just assume that I am what I look like. People don’t know you’re story, people may not even know your name, but they act like they know everything about you.

I have witnessed, in person, a white family prohibit their daughter from dating black males. This family lives in Georgia where racism is an even huger problem. The daughter of the family didn’t obey her parents rules and dated a black kid. They dated for three years and over time her family eventually just disowned her. I’ve never been able to understand how a family can hate a race so much that they would consider and go through with disowning their child. The kid she is dating wasn’t a bad kid at all. He had money, was going to college, had good manners and never showed any once of disrespect to anyone. There was no reason for the family not to like him other than the fact that he was colored. “Moreover, racism in itself implies that our skin color defines who we are, however a person’s skin color does not accurately represent their intelligence, wealth, or their morals.” (Racism In America: Racism Is A Disease That Needs To Be Cured)

“Second, the majority of Americans, and even of white Americans -- whether they voted for Obama or not -- seemed to feel proud and positive that the nation had finally reached this amazing milestone.” (What!? Racism Still in America?) Although our society seems doomed to always have racism tangled in its roots, I do sometimes feel like we will overcome racism. When Barack Obama was sworn into office I actually felt as though all of America was proud that we as a country could overcome racism in some ways. “But let's be honest. We all know that racism still exists in America today. We know that there is a hard core of our white fellow citizens who simply will not accept their black or brown brothers and sisters -- especially one in the White House. So while we should not call every disagreement an issue of racism, it is time call out the racism that indeed does still exist -- that wounds our soul as a nation, and that obstructs the promise of the United States.” (What!? Racism Still In America?)

I don’t think it is fair for me to say our nation is not trying to end racism, in fact I’m not saying that at all. I do believe our nation has been trying to end racism for a while now. They have created laws, allowed everyone the right to vote, created the Jim Crow laws and have abolished slavery. Our nation has taken actions, but I don’t think racism will ever end. The world is ignorant, and we are all drawn to a stereotype letting others have a certain judgment of us.

Racism is commonly brought up when dealing with white and blacks. However that’s not the only case of racism. There are other races that deal with racism. Too many people pinpoint blacks as the only victims of racism, when in fact every race has it. Whites are not the only ones at fault for being racist, and if you believe they are, is that not another act of racism? I am a Mexican, but because I appear to be white I am picked on by other Mexicans. They call me white trash, pale skinned, white girl, etc. When in fact I am just like them. I am from the same culture, same heritage, I’m just not the same color. And isn’t that the same issue everyone else faces? The problem is that we are not all the same color.

Racial Profiling Lives On

Hyperbolic:  having the nature of hyperbole; exaggerated
Predominantly: Having greatest ascendancy, importance, influence, authority, or force.
Inflected: To alter (the voice) in tone or pitch; modulate. 
Inevitably: unable to be avoided, evaded, or escaped; certain; necessary: an inevitable conclusion. 
Render: To submit or present, as for consideration, approval, or payment
Unrestrained: Not controlled or held in check; immoderate: exploitation of natural resources
Frisk: to dance, leap, skip, or gambol; frolic: The dogs and children frisked about on the lawn. 
Hypothetical: assumed by hypothesis; supposed
Probable: supported by evidence strong enough to establish presumption but not proof
Discretion: the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment

• Police are able to pull someone over, stop them in the streets or just simply question them if they look a certain way. (Race, skin color, etc.)
• The people do not know they have the right to say no to an officers request to search ones possessions. 
• Supreme Court has ruled that people who are chased and captured by the police are not “seized” 
• running away would be counted in determining reasonable suspicion
• Some officers might use the excuse that the person they pulled over looked suspicious because they looked like they could be undocumented. 
• In conclusion any police officer can get away with being racist and make false assumptions about someone being suspicious just because of the color of their skin. 

vocab #9

ultimate: being or happening at the end of a process; final.
The ultimate decision would be to cancel all plans this summer and go stay with your aunt.
interactive: (of two people or things) influencing or having an effect on each other.
My government class is very interactive; we always work in groups or partners.
principle: fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
There are many principles to the working system. 
guidance: advice or information aimed at resolving a problem or difficulty, esp. as given by someone in authority.
My cousin looks up to me for guidance, I am her role model.
collaboration: the action of working with someone to produce or create something.
Justin Bieber has many collaborations with other music artists on his last album.
formative: serving to form something, esp. having a profound and lasting influence on a person's development. Something that shaped or taught a person.
My childhood was very formative and I was able to learn how to use commonsense. 
summative: of or relating to a summation or produced by summation, the sum of a problem
After much investigation the summative of the problem was that there had only been two apple pies.
racism: the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.
We are surrounded by racism everyday at school. 
intelligence: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
After scoring a 2200 on his SAT I decided he was the most intelligent person I have ever met. 

The Value of Learning and Living Life

My week-to-be would be a very focused, determined, working enviroment. I know that having a sub for three days is going to get some people distracted, but I'm hoping they can be responsible. I want everyone to stay calm and do what they're suppose to do. We get to teach ourselves something this week, besides what has been assigned we will learn to discipline ourselves. I'd like to get a really good, understanding of what we read so I can apply it to the real world.

Literature Analysis #3

A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

1. My book is about a mans rough childhood and the different types of abuse he undergoes. David is beaten, stabbed, burned, told to drink different chemicals and neglected. All of this is done to him by the woman who should be saving and protecting him, his mother. His mom makes him sleep in a small closet and if he needs to use the bathroom he is forced to pee himself, then he is sent to school in the same clothes everyday. He thinks he deserves it, he doesn't understand why his mom hates him so much and he is always trying to gain her affection. 
2. I believe Dave Pelzer wrote this book as a form of therapy and a way to let others know it's better to share with someone else if something bad is happening to you or a friend. Don't hide dangerous things from others, reach out for help and make your life a safe place to live. 
3. I chose this book based off of what I had heard about it. I have friends who had read it in middle school and they all loved it, so I decided to give it a try and see what everyone was talking about. The story was so intriguing and as soon as you read the first chapter you had to know what happened to this little kid. You have to know if he makes it out okay. 
4. I did find this book very realistic, it was also sort of a wake up call for me. After reading this book I started to pay more attention to the students around me. Dave pointed out things that made him different and I looked for those characteristics in other students I see everyday to see if I could find any that might be putting up with abuse. Because I started doing this not only in class, but around everyone, I noticed it was happening to my cousin. 

People

1. I think that if I met David's mom in person I wouldn't see her as someone who would abuse her child. It's hard for me to see any mother abusing her child. I think the rest of the characters would be seen the same exact way as he portrays them to be. His tone throughout the entire book is confused, scared and hopeful. He's confused as to why his mom doesn't love him anymore, he's scared because he never knows what cruel punishment to expect and he's hopeful because he's always talking about the day his mom will realize how mean she is and he will prove to her that he's amazing. 
2. David is a very fragile, young boy who wears glasses and rarely eats. He's always wearing the same clothes and he doesn't complain. He is an example of indirect characterization. We know what David is thinking and how he responds to other characters. His mom and class mates are direct characterization. They have direct statements being made by them. His mom beats and stabs him, and his classmates pick on him. If I were writing this book as a fictional story, I would have made the mom seem even more ugly and wicked looking then what he described her as. However, all the other characters seem to have the perfect description and I wouldn't write them any other way.
3. David's story is worth telling because he has such a brutal story to tell. He went through such a huge hardship and suffered through the most abusive relationship with his mother. His mom is worth writing about because she is the reason the story exists, and the people who pick on him create an even larger emotional appeal to the entire story. 
4. One example of direct characterization is when David's classmates pick on him for smelling and looking bad. The author states that they were bullies. Another example of direct characterization is when the teacher makes an effort to help David, the author clearly states that she is someone who David will trust and seek help from. 
5. I didn't notice any change in syntax when the author would discuss a different character. However the diction would change when talking about his mother. His tone would shift and he became more forward and used descriptive language to express the cruel actions she performed on him.
6. The protagonist is David and he is very dynamic. You almost get to experience the abuse with him. He is a very structured character and has a lot of understandable feelings.
7. I did feel as though I had met Dave. I have never experienced anything similar to him, in regards of being abused. But like Dave, I have felt alone, betrayed, scared for my life, and hopeful. David talks about not having any friends to talk to, no one wanted to be near him. I went through a similar situation in elementary school. 

 

Style

1.  The author used more of a journalistic form of writing. He took you day by day or week by week and month by month. I never picked up on any foreshadowing.
2. The Author does use lengthy descriptions for the more complex characters and some scenes. The author focuses more on the action rather than on dialogue. I think he does this because the events that he is describing happened such a long time ago, it's probably harder to write in dialogue when you can't remember the entire conversation.
3. I think the authors attitude towards this subject is probably very sensitive. He had to relive his  horrible past and talk about his traumatic experiences. 
4. The author doesn't offer any resources.