Thursday, May 26, 2011

Prompt #11

How do people come of age in different parts of the world? How do our surrounding and upbringing influence this?

     Our surroundings affect our point of views on the world. How we look at it. What we think about it. Who lives on it. By who, I'm not talking about their gender or race, but more of their personality and how they act. Of course race can act as a part of how you view the world. Growing up, however may change it. As a kid, you may feel limited to one place. You're too young to travel outside, especially alone, so you're stuck in the same neighborhood with the same people. Each neighborhood is different. What I've noticed is that, people who are alike tends to live near each other. Growing up has made me realize, there are others out there that are way different than me. Others that think completely than me. Depending on your surroundings, you might grow up to be a brave kid who always fights for yourself, or someone who completely depends on others. Growing up, that might change, or it may stay the same. That's the thing about growing up. You never know what you will end up like because your thoughts are always changing. Your views are always changing when you discover something new.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

A Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

     Growing up is basically what most kids, especially teenagers dream of doing. They wish for freedom and independence. However, they also get things they don't want such as responsibilities. Growing up, would mean going through changes. Doesn't have to be physical, but anything really. For some people, growing up isn't easy at all. Having to go through the pain and obstacles in growing up is very hard. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, shows the readers the pain in growing up. This book shows how Holden views the world, and let's just say it's not so pretty.
     Wanting to grow up is like wanting to change. You don't like something about yourself, and suddenly wanting to get rid of it. You want a change in your life, because of whatever happened in the past possibly. Lots of people feel that way. I definitely feel that way. Holden on the other hand, "the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like." Now does that sound like he was happy back then? I'm not saying he's happy now, but there are certain moments in the past that you just want to forget.
In the beginning, Holden Caulfield shows that he is a very bitter person. It shows that he is troubled, and needs help. It seems like he hates his life. It seems like he wants to forget what happened in the past.
     Holden is not the most appropriate person... the way he talks, it sounds like he's never proud of anything. Which reminds me, I'm not referring to emo people, or naming anyone, but haven't you walked down the street and see someone that looks really depressed, always cursing, and not caring about the world? "They were these little hard, dry jobs that you could hardly even cut." This quote shows that, he's always finding something to complain about. I'm not saying that he does, but it seems like he gets pleasure from looking down at everything surrounding him. Not only that, but I've also noticed he tends to say damn a lot.
     As you're growing up, you realize new things you want to do in life, and new thing you don't want to do in life. You have new goals, yet you have things you want to avoid doing. Holden dropped out of school, and doesn't want to go back, thinking everything there is phony. He thinks EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE is phony. Now looking at that, aren't there times in your lives where you look at a person and go "wow, they are so fake"? To me, it seems like Holden does that at everything he sees. "All those Ivy League bastards look alike. My father wants me to go to Yale, or maybe Princeton, but I swear, I wouldn't go to one of those Ivy League colleges if i was dying for God's sake." He's having a hard time getting along with people. He's having a hard time "fitting in", which is what a lot of people try to do growing up. He seems like one of those who just gave up on life thinking there's no point of living.
     I agree with Holden, and his views of the world. Certain times in my life, I just want to give up. I didn't want to live because everyone out there is phony, and will just keep messing with me. You can call it bulling, annoying or whatever. They're doing something I don't like, but to them I'm probably doing something they don't like. Even though I do agree with him, it is not 100%. Not everything is phony to me, and I believe there's a purpose of life. Growing up isn't easy nor fast. There are things that will change your mind about the world. You'll discover many things even if you don't want to.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Coming of Age

Object - Picture

     As a little kid, before my father moved to New York, my family and I would always go on vacation every few weeks. I enjoyed my life as a kid and didn't want to grow up. I can't say that I NEVER wanted to grow up because certain times in our lines we wish to be what we are not. Anyways, looking back at this picture, it reminds me of the good old days when my brother and I were like 2 peas in a pod. I loved him very much, more than I do now. It hurts to think about how often we would argue now that we have "grown up". I would always follow him around, play with him, watch all his favorite TV shows, and share each other's food. Now, it seems almost impossible. Without my brother, I don't know what I would of ended up like.

Object - my hair ^^

     In Thailand, and most Asian countries, kids were not allowed to dye their hair, except if possibly international schools. some countries didn't allow you to wear or cut your hair certain ways. In fact, its not even just kids, but pretty much anyone who's still in school, not counting college. Apparently Thailand was one of those countries. My hair was my natural color, and it was even bobbed. Now that I moved to America, a country with so many freedoms, I feel like i was raised a little differently than I was "supposed" to. To me, changing my hair is not a way of rebelling against my parents, but more of enjoying my new freedom. Do what I wasn't to do, considering I never know when I will be forced to dye it back. Not only that, but I feel that, as an Asian, it is necessary to dye my hair. JUST SAYING. It's who I am. I am willing to go through all of the pain of dumping chemicals on my head just because I want to.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Final Response to Lord of The Flies

     The book took place during the nuclear war in England. The airplane exploded and crashed into the island leaving the boys between the ages of 6 to 12 with no adult supervision. They figured out if they want to live, they have to form their own civilization similar to the old one. Ralph was elected as leader because the boys thought he was a natural leader and he is the oldest one of all. Knowing that they want to be rescued, Ralph thought that they need to set a signal fire on the island. In order to do that, the boys used Piggy's glasses to light the fire up. Ralph then chose Jack to be in charge of the biguns (boys between ages of 10 and 12), and the group is to provide meat for everyone. Lord of the Flies was written by Golding's consideration of human evil causes, effects, and manifestations of evil.

     Jack is a good example of how easily human can turn into evil. He started out as a leader of a group then he turned into a dictator leading the boys into doing bad things. What changed him was when they humiliated Jack after running down from the mountain after seeing the beast. He then runs off into the jungle and tells the boy who wishes to join him can come. The biguns snuck away from Ralph's group and joined Jack's. After Simon discovered out the truth about the beast and did not get a chance to tell the rest of the group, Jack's followers beat him up to death thinking they were playing a game of "hunting a pig." At the end of the book, Jack decided to get revenge on Ralph because he did not like Ralph and wanted complete control over the boys. He decided to burn the island and Navel Officer came to rescue them because after seeing the disaster of the island. 

     I feel that the conflict of this book can happen to our modern world. It happened in World War II, when Hitler decided to take control over Europe because of his desire for power like Jack did in the book. It's pretty terrifying, and I could never live if anything like this happened to me. In fact, this book is horrifying. It explains everything that is going on in the world, even today. I'm scared. Yes, a book made me scared, and not because the "beast" in the book. Mankind will do anything for power. They become blind once they see how much power exists in the world, and they are willing to do anything for it. Once this happens, prepare for tragedy and destruction. It will happen.

     After reading this, I realized how easy it is for things to get messed up. Really anything, if you make the wrong choice, or do something bad, even if it's small, things will get ruined. Once a fight happens, especially between ones with power, I won't be surprise if it ends as an apocalypse. This book taught me what's really going on in the real world. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

2nd Draft of Response to Lord of the Flies

The book took place during the nuclear war in England. The airplane exploded and crash into the island leaving the boys between the ages of 6 to 12 with no adult supervision. They figured out if they want to live, they have to form their own civilization similar to the old one.

Ralph was elected as leader because the boys think he was a natural leader and he is the oldest one of all. Knowing that they want to be rescued, Ralph thought that they need to set a singal fire on the island. The boys use Piggy's glasses to light the fire up. Ralph choosed Jack to be in charge of the biguns (boys between ages of 10 and 12), his group is to provide meet for everyone.

Lord of the Flies was written by Golding's consideration of human evil causes, effects, and manifestations of evil. Jack is a good example of how easily human can turn into evil. He started out as a leader of a group then he turned into a dictator leading the boys into doing bad things. What changes him is when they humilate Jack after running down from the mountain after seeing the beast. He then run off into the jungle and ask the boy who wishes to join him can come. The biguns snuck away from Ralph's group and join Jack. After Simon discover out the truth about the beast and did not get a chance to tell the rest of the group, Jack's followers beat him up to death thinking they were playing a game of "hunting a pig." At the end of the book, Jack decided to get revenge on Ralph because he did not like Ralph and wanted a complete control over the boys. So he decided to burn the island and Navel Officer came to rescue them because after seeing the disaster of the island. The boys realize of what they have done.

I feel that the conflict of this book can happen to our modern world. It happened in World War II, when Hitler dicided to take control over Europe because of his desire for power like Jack did in the book. It's pretty terrifying, and I could never live if anything like this happened to me. In fact, this book is horrifying. It explains everything that is going on in the world, even today. I'm scared. Yes, a book made me scared, and not because the "beast" in the book. Mankind will do anything for power. They become blind once they see how much power exists in the world, and they are willing to do anything for it. Once this happens, prepare for tragedy and destruction. It will happen.

After reading this, I realized how easy it is for things to get messed up. Really anything, if you make the wrong choice, or do something bad, even if its small, things will get ruined. Once a fight happens, especially between ones with power, I won't be suprise if it ends as an apocalypes.

I showed this book to some people, and they found it funny, and that made me think. How is this funny? It's not meant to make you laugh, and when I  heard that they thought it was stupid and funny, that was just sad to me. Not that I want to over think this but this book is what taught me a lot of things. It taught me what's really going on in the real world. I wonder what would happen if i end up like that. This book was just so realistic, I will never get it out of my head. NOT THAT IT'S A BAD THING. I actually loved the book.

Lord of the Flies

The book took place during the nuclear war in England. The airplane exploded and crash into the island leaving the boys between the ages of 6 to 12 with no adult supervision. They figured out if they want to live, they have to form their own civilization similar to the old one.

Ralph was elected as leader because the boys think he was a natural leader and he is the oldest one of all. Knowing that they want to be rescued, Ralph thought that they need to set a singal fire on the island. The boys use Piggy's glasses to light the fire up. Ralph choosed Jack to be in charge of the biguns (boys between ages of 10 and 12), his group is to provide meet for everyone.

Lord of the Flies was written by Golding's consideration of human evil causes, effects, and manifestations of evil. Jack is a good example of how easily human can turn into evil. He started out as a leader of a group then he turned into a dictator leading the boys into doing bad things. What changes him is when they humilate Jack after running down from the mountain after seeing the beast. He then run off into the jungle and ask the boy who wishes to join him can come. The biguns snuck away from Ralph's group and join Jack. After Simon discover out the truth about the beast and did not get a chance to tell the rest of the group, Jack's followers beat him up to death thinking they were playing a game of "hunting a pig." At the end of the book, Jack decided to get revenge on Ralph because he did not like Ralph and wanted a complete control over the boys. So he decided to burn the island and Navel Officer came to rescue them because after seeing the disaster of the island. The boys realize of what they have done.

I feel that the conflict of this book can happen to our modern world. It happened in World War II, when Hitler dicided to take control over Europe because of his desire for power like Jack did in the book. It's pretty terrifying, and I could never live if anything like this happened to me. I showed this book to some people, and they found it funny, and that made me think. How is this funny? It's not meant to make you laugh, and when I  heard that they thought it was stupid and funny, that was just sad to me. Not that I want to over think this but this book is what taught me a lot of things.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Blog Responses

The Base of My World
     Sarah's blog, is not just a blog. It's not just a bunch of words typed up just for the heck of it. At least it doesn't feel that way. That's what I like about her blog, she's able to convince the reader, show what she feels, and have to reader feel it too. I really enjoyed reading her response on "My Papa's Waltz". Her opinions aren't just opinions, but they have something to support it. Not just something random. I think she puts a lot of work into these responses and the first person I go to for reading blogs is hers.

Jasmine's Blog
     1st of all I would like to say that I love her sonnet. It makes me wonder what she was feeling inside when she wrote it. It's really her poems, and even her poetry responses that I really like. Reading her blog, it makes me feel like her responses/poems all have a "theme", that they all somehow relate or connect in one way, which I can't really explain, but I've noticed that with a lot of people. I noticed Jasmine here writes a lot about love, maybe not a lot, but she just does, which makes me wonder.

What Am I Gonna Write
     Aaron's blog, one of the 1st blogs I go to if I feel like reading something funny, or to cheer me up (not including funny youtube videos or episodes of whatever). Some people might find his home "out there" and "ridiculous", but I love it. I actually think he's actually a really good poet. His responses, aren't all so serious, but they show meaning.

Sonnet 999

There you stand in the shining light waiting
For someone, something to happen in life
No longer could you wait for the making
Of that person destined to be your wife

There is a girl, but you're too blind to see
She is right next to me, yes my bestfriend
Scary is it not, that I am the key
For at least one night with her, you shall spend

Dare to hurt her, I will dare to hurt you
It's time for you to go, don't say a word
Say mean things to her, oh you have no clue
Always watch your back, I am sure you've heard

Give her a call, listen to what she says
Be happy, 'cause your stuck with her for days

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Narrative Poem With A Rhyme Scheme

Something to do

Oh what to do, what to do
sitting here with nothing to do
should I do my homework?
naa today I'll be a jerk

Maybe I should play a game
Yea, now I have someone to blame
My friends and brother, who shall play with me
I'll blame my lack of homework on them, yea they're the key

Well my eyes hurt from playing so much
Time to talk to my friends, and keep in touch
Oh god, there's no one to talk to
Gotta find something else to do

It's late night, and I'm very sleepy
The lights shut, my room looks so creepy
I can't sleep now that I'm scared
Well too bad, because nobody cares

Oh what to do, what to do
Staring at the ceiling, with nothing to do

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Poem On An Important Incident

It's coming
You don't know it
but it's coming

a girl screams
"look a big wave"
she gets ignored

it's coming
no one cares
but it's coming

the giant waves
heading towards the shore
it looks slow far away
but wait till you come face to face

faster than ever
towering over everyone
towering over everything

it's here
it's not over
but it's here

woosh, splash, thump
the flood
the waves
everyone and everything
floating
unable to breathe
mostly dead

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Poetry Response to The Scream


The Scream

Crossing the bridge
Looking up at the blue sky
Nothing but the sound of silence
And footsteps passing behind
Look out into the water
And enjoy nature
Look up at the sky
Suddenly turning red
What just happened?
The silence is no longer silent
Listen to that sound
The sound of the scream
Clearly not coming from you
Not coming from him
Not coming from her
Not coming from them
Hear the sound of the wind
Hear the sound of nature
The scream passing by your ear
So loud that you can't handle
What just happened?


What is Poetry?

What is Poetry?

Poetry is a craft of word and sense
Of ornaments and decorations strung together
Hang it on a tree
And create an amazing work of art
A finely sewn piece of silk
So perfect it's shinier than diamond
It softly mocks the world
Using bits of thoughts, ideas, feelings, and life
All strung together
To express who you are

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Response to Poem Read in Class

What is Poetry? by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Poetry is news
from the frontiers
of consciousness

Poetry is
the shook foil of the imagination
It should shine out
and half blind you

Poetry is the anarchy of the senses
making sense

A poem can be made
of common household ingredients
It fits on a single page
yet it can fill a world
and fits in the pocket of a heart

It is a pulsing fragment
of the inner life
and unthethered music

Poetry is perpetual revolt
againts silence exile and cunning

The poet a subversive barbarian
at the city gates
constantly challenging
our status quo

Poetry is religion
Religion is poetry

A poem is its own Coney Island of
the mind
its own circus of the soul
its own Far Rockaway of the heart

What is poetry? Ferlinghetty is saying that its what goes on and happens in your mind. Its your imagination, that you might not even know about before. There are no rules when it comes to poetry, and can be created by just little things that surround you. Once you start, its hard to stop. Once you start, the silence is no longer silent. It's a way of letting others know. Speak your mind. Look into your heart.

I agree with him about what poetry is. The writer can go wild, or be sophisticated. It's all up to the writer. Nothing and no one can control you when you're writing poetry.

Analyzing A Painting

The Scream By Edvard Much
This painting wasn't drawn by who I originally thought it was drawn by so I guess i knew less about it than I thought I did.
What I do know is that the original name for this painting was in German and it translated to The Scream of Nature. The landscape in the back is actually Oslofjord, a bay south east of Norway. This however was viewed from Ekeberg, which is a neighborhood in Oslo. Every time I visit my cousin, I'd always see Oslofjord, and it's very beautiful. However I've only seen it from the actual location that the artist did once.

In this painting, it looks like it just past sunset, and the sky turned red, orange. The guy in the front, represents the painter, and he's just looking at nature, feeling amazed by it. Looking at his face, he looks shocked because of nature, and the red sky. He felt the scream of nature, like the original name of this painting. The sky suddenly turning red, walking across a bridge, looking at the Olsofjord.The person in this painting/the artist, is covering his ear. Maybe he's trying to block out the loud sound, possibly terrifying or maybe not. The sound isn't coming from him. His mouth might be opened but it's more like of an "OMG what's that sound" not a scream. I find it really cool, when I visited this place, the sky was actually literally red, which is really interesting.