"Normal American Kids" is a ballad dedicated to teenagers who believe themselves to be different from their peers. The poem illustrates how each and every American kid thinks that they are unique because of their rebellion. The author talks about his days as a teenager in a brooding and resentful tone, but now that he is grown he can recognize that he had nothing to be afraid of. He reflects back on himself with nostalgia and wisdom and realizes that he was no different from a Normal American Kid. Whether it was getting high behind his shed or feeling bored on lazy summer days, he writes with sarcasm about how angsty he used to be. When the author writes "I was as high as high can get", he implies two things: that he was as happy and as carefree as he was ever going to be, and he used his time as a kid to resent other kids who were just like him. In the last stanza, when he says,"Hate everything, I don't understand" he admits that his hate came from a place of ignorance, and as an adult he realizes how foolish that fear is.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
New Years Gift
The glare from the January sun forced Karl Alzner to rock oakley sunglasses during the first period. New Year's Day was blessed with warm weather, but clouds of breath still rose throughout the ballpark. The trophy deprived city needed a sense of hope. The trash talking, board rattling, and high flying 2015 Bridgestone Winter Classic became an instant classic as soon as the final horn sounded. Time was running out in the game between the Washington Capitals, and the defending Stanely Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. The score deadlocked: 2-2. Seat and seat cushion folded up, fingers rattling, and eyes closed, I prayed to the hockey gods.
The gods responded when the refs charged Jonathan Toews with hooking. He would have to spend the final minute and thirteen seconds of regulation, and the first 47 seconds of overtime in the penalty box. A soft call in a penalty filled game. Joel Quenneville, the Blackhawks coach, agreed with me; however, he slurs were washed away in “Let’s go Caps” chants. Time ticked closer and closer to triple zeros as the Blackhawks cleared the puck. The Capitals had time for one last rush. Alex Ovechkin picked up the puck near mid-ice, and carried it into the offensive zone. A buzz rippled through National Bank Park. Ovechkin lifted his Bauer MX3 and ripped. But his stick snapped in half before it ever touched the ice. Ovechkin threw his arms in the air. The Capitals bench threw their arms in the air. The fans in red threw their arms in the air. And finally, the ref lifted his arm to signal a penalty on Brent Seabrook, a Blackhawks defenseman, for slashing. There was a split second of silence. Then, pandemonium. All at once, the crowd saw the puck lying in the back of the net. The sea of red shook the stadium. Troy Brouwer had taken advantage of the confusion. He had found the puck, spun around, and snapped it between Joey Crawford’s glove and thigh with twelve point nine seconds to go. Jumping and using the last of my non existent voice, I waved my red Capitals beanie above my head. Everybody was hugging and high-fiving each other, no one wearing red was a stranger. Tens of thousands of seat cushions rained down from the sky like angels floating down from heaven. I grabbed my seven year old cousin and lifted him like Simba. I then spun around and leapt into my best friend’s arms. Water was thrown into the air like champagne, and the hollars ricocheted around the park.
The referee dropped the puck one last time. Andrew Shaw of the Blackhawks flung the puck towards the net in desperation, but Braden Holtby, the goalie, knocked the careening puck aside with his left pad. Patrick Kane came flying towards the net. He recovered the soft rebound and flicked his wrists, but Holtby’s lighting quick glove snagged it out of the air and threw it aside. The final horn sounded.
The three stars and the game MVP were awarded as the after party proceeded. No one had left the building. The Capitals fans eventually meandered to the exits. Chants of C-A-P-S CAPS! CAPS! CAPS! reverberated around the cement tunnels. The celebration proceed onto the streets and sidewalks. Cars honked, people hollered, and high fives spread like a disease throughout ‘The District.’
The gods responded when the refs charged Jonathan Toews with hooking. He would have to spend the final minute and thirteen seconds of regulation, and the first 47 seconds of overtime in the penalty box. A soft call in a penalty filled game. Joel Quenneville, the Blackhawks coach, agreed with me; however, he slurs were washed away in “Let’s go Caps” chants. Time ticked closer and closer to triple zeros as the Blackhawks cleared the puck. The Capitals had time for one last rush. Alex Ovechkin picked up the puck near mid-ice, and carried it into the offensive zone. A buzz rippled through National Bank Park. Ovechkin lifted his Bauer MX3 and ripped. But his stick snapped in half before it ever touched the ice. Ovechkin threw his arms in the air. The Capitals bench threw their arms in the air. The fans in red threw their arms in the air. And finally, the ref lifted his arm to signal a penalty on Brent Seabrook, a Blackhawks defenseman, for slashing. There was a split second of silence. Then, pandemonium. All at once, the crowd saw the puck lying in the back of the net. The sea of red shook the stadium. Troy Brouwer had taken advantage of the confusion. He had found the puck, spun around, and snapped it between Joey Crawford’s glove and thigh with twelve point nine seconds to go. Jumping and using the last of my non existent voice, I waved my red Capitals beanie above my head. Everybody was hugging and high-fiving each other, no one wearing red was a stranger. Tens of thousands of seat cushions rained down from the sky like angels floating down from heaven. I grabbed my seven year old cousin and lifted him like Simba. I then spun around and leapt into my best friend’s arms. Water was thrown into the air like champagne, and the hollars ricocheted around the park.
The referee dropped the puck one last time. Andrew Shaw of the Blackhawks flung the puck towards the net in desperation, but Braden Holtby, the goalie, knocked the careening puck aside with his left pad. Patrick Kane came flying towards the net. He recovered the soft rebound and flicked his wrists, but Holtby’s lighting quick glove snagged it out of the air and threw it aside. The final horn sounded.
The three stars and the game MVP were awarded as the after party proceeded. No one had left the building. The Capitals fans eventually meandered to the exits. Chants of C-A-P-S CAPS! CAPS! CAPS! reverberated around the cement tunnels. The celebration proceed onto the streets and sidewalks. Cars honked, people hollered, and high fives spread like a disease throughout ‘The District.’
What Zits learned in his travels
In Sherman Alexie’s Flight, the protagonist, who calls himself Zits, travels through space and time by taking control of other people's bodies. Zits, as a young Native American who seems to hate society, learns about himself and the world while his consciousness is traveling across history. Though Zits assumes the bodies of many different people, each one is connected and says something unique about how Native Americans have been treated since European colonization.
After waking up in the body of an FBI agent from 1975, Zits learns about how much Indians had been systematically abused by law enforcement. Zits, as Hank Storm, is forced to mutilate the dead body of a young Indian man. Zits relates himself to this boy, thinking “He’s a kid. Like me”(Alexie, 53). He has a realization that the Indians have been treated terribly, and that he is just like the others who have been tortured or killed before. Zits had only ever heard about the terrible acts taken against his people, but now he only had more reason to believe that an Indian boy like him could never survive in such an awful society.
Later, Zits wakes up in the body of Gus, a soldier who tracks down Native Americans to kill. Zits would never try to kill other Indians, but Gus’s instincts force him to lead an American army into an Indian camp. At the village, Zits continues to see how deeply his people have been oppressed, even so many years ago. Zits takes responsibility for the death that the army will wrought upon the Natives, remarking that “I ride with killers, so that makes me a killer”(Alexie, 90). Seeing such mass slaughter of Native Americans hurts Zits. He doesn't want to kill anybody, even protecting some of the young Indian children. Throughout this section of the book, Zits is fighting against his instincts as Gus to kill his own people. After becoming the person who hunts down Natives for others to kill, Zits sees even deeper into the society that went on to oppress him hundreds of years later.
Social Media Matters for Your College Acceptance!
The fact that social media can sway college acceptance is somewhat absurd, yet intriguing. When the article claims the rumor true that the college admissions check through their applicants’ social media, it evokes the reader's curiosity about the specifics behind it. The admissions’ act of ‘stalking’ is disputable, however, there are certainly positive aspects that lead the students into a healthier social media life.
First of all, I disagree upon social media being one of the factors that can determine one’s college acceptance. People have different perspectives on the usage of social media; some people consider it as a stress relief by watching entertaining videos, some use it to check the news by following the news apps, while the others use it to socialize with their friends all around the world. That being said, it is unethical to get to know about someone through their social media pages. Rather than spending fifteen minutes scrolling through thousands of applicants’ social media, which will take at least five minutes to even find them, it will be much more efficient to have a fifteen minute face-to-face interview with the applicants.
Albeit I strongly oppose social media getting involved in college admission process, it certainly does expose the teenagers to a more positive aspect of social media. By following the pages and people of their interest and posting feeds that reflect their opinions, "your(their) social media should reflect who you really are" (Knorr) . This helps them to create his/her own space that represents themselves that can be used for not only discovering their clear self-interest that they previously have not known but also appealing one’s passion to college admissions.
There is nothing in particular that I can do about college admissions searching up their applicants’ social media, nonetheless, I at least became to know how to make a better use of social media!
Debunking the Invincibility Myth of Black Men
When I was 13 or 14, I learned that my brother had been arrested for possession of marijuana. It wasn't his own, and he had no intention to sell it; however, New York City’s recently implemented “Stop and Frisk” Policy meant that police no longer needed a warrant to search people in public places such as train stations, schools, and on the street. When reading jargon about why the NYPD decided to implement these measures, I learned about ”Broken Windows Policing,” or the attempt to prevent crimes by cracking down on minor infractions. Theoretically this could work, as most races commit crimes at generally the same rate; however, policing in the United States has specifically targeted minorities such as blacks and Hispanics. This systematic targeting has led to mass incarceration-- prisons have effectively become new plantations, where black men are shipped off, forced to work for cents an hour, and abused constantly. And mass incarceration affects more than the people inside: families are torn apart and incomes are lost, meaning that those left on the outside, specifically children, will have a much harder time for the rest of their lives.
This all stems from black men being seen too often as threats to white America. When hearing about countless victims of police brutality in the past five years or so, the media often refers to the victims as thugs and use stereotypically “black” images of them. Furthermore, when police recount why they shot and killed black men, they oftentimes says "I feared for my life," despite the fact that the victims are typically unarmed. The invincibility myth of black men has been perpetrated for far too long, and this is very dangerous to the black community. Blacks go through many of the same problems as whites, yet oftentimes they are ignored or attributed to internal disposition. Suicide rates amongst young black men are also staggeringly high-- illustrating that blacks are not as invulnerable as once thought. If white America were made to see this, then maybe a few black lives can be saved.
This all stems from black men being seen too often as threats to white America. When hearing about countless victims of police brutality in the past five years or so, the media often refers to the victims as thugs and use stereotypically “black” images of them. Furthermore, when police recount why they shot and killed black men, they oftentimes says "I feared for my life," despite the fact that the victims are typically unarmed. The invincibility myth of black men has been perpetrated for far too long, and this is very dangerous to the black community. Blacks go through many of the same problems as whites, yet oftentimes they are ignored or attributed to internal disposition. Suicide rates amongst young black men are also staggeringly high-- illustrating that blacks are not as invulnerable as once thought. If white America were made to see this, then maybe a few black lives can be saved.
Revised Piece
(excerpt from a passage analysis essay from 4th form English)
No one knows how to be perfect in a relationship, let alone how to fix one flawlessly. As demonstrated in Americanah, learning from one’s mistakes can help fulfill one’s goals as a partner. This passage proves Ifemelu is learning how to deal constructively with conflict in a relationship.
Ifemelu remembers the intimacy of their past, and when that is juxtaposed with the noticeably uneasy distance, she does her best to bring them emotionally and physically closer. A lexical field that includes words like ‘shook’, ‘unnecessarily’, ‘failing’, and ‘momentary anger’ creates an uncomfortable tone of instability and static energy. When compared with their original affection, like the memory of ‘[his fingers] on her body’, Adichie emphasizes the frigidity that has grown between the two characters. No stranger to troubled relationships, Ifemelu clearly picks up on this distance between Blaine and herself, especially when she is reminded of the lust she still feels for him. As if to physically close this distance, Ifem ‘reached out’ and held Blaine, feeling ‘the warmth through his sweatshirt’ until he eases away. She also ‘unessesarily’ complements the food cooking in the pot by saying it looked good. Ifemelu makes efforts to bring herself closer to Blaine and reconnect with him in the sexually and emotionally intimate way they once did.
When faced with possible failure, Ifemelu remains calm and does what she believes is necessary to save their relationship. The idea of failure is first presented when the author uses a metaphor of the broken coconut to represent the broken state of Blaine and Ifemelu’s relationship. Ifemelu is saddened to ‘think it could never be a whole coconut again’, imagining her connection to Blaine will never be recovered. This rupture also changes her perspective; as she surveys the view from the kitchen window, the scenery no longer seems ‘burnished and unendingly new’, instead, the snowflakes are violently ‘flung’ from above. In spite of viewing her relationship as if on a precipice, Ifem does not act spontaneously nor forcefully. She does struggle to remain in control of herself, as connoted by the word choice of ‘shook’ when describing her hands as they held the rice. However, she forces her actions to be deliberate and gentle; she avoids conflict by holding back her ‘momentary anger’ and by asking him neutral questions, like ‘if she should add more water’. This moment is a critical turning point for her and proves just how much she values her connection to Blaine.
This passage is particularly meaningful in the sense it presents a more mature Ifemelu; she has learned from her previous two relationships that closing in on herself and acting in defiance are not effective ways to move forward. Though Blaine remains ‘steely’, her new approach to conflict allows for a much greater possibility of reconciliation.
Reference: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. New York: Anchor, 2013. Print.
(excerpt from a passage analysis essay from 4th form English)
No one knows how to be perfect in a relationship, let alone how to fix one flawlessly. As demonstrated in Americanah, learning from one’s mistakes can help fulfill one’s goals as a partner. This passage proves Ifemelu is learning how to deal constructively with conflict in a relationship.
Ifemelu remembers the intimacy of their past, and when that is juxtaposed with the noticeably uneasy distance, she does her best to bring them emotionally and physically closer. A lexical field that includes words like ‘shook’, ‘unnecessarily’, ‘failing’, and ‘momentary anger’ creates an uncomfortable tone of instability and static energy. When compared with their original affection, like the memory of ‘[his fingers] on her body’, Adichie emphasizes the frigidity that has grown between the two characters. No stranger to troubled relationships, Ifemelu clearly picks up on this distance between Blaine and herself, especially when she is reminded of the lust she still feels for him. As if to physically close this distance, Ifem ‘reached out’ and held Blaine, feeling ‘the warmth through his sweatshirt’ until he eases away. She also ‘unessesarily’ complements the food cooking in the pot by saying it looked good. Ifemelu makes efforts to bring herself closer to Blaine and reconnect with him in the sexually and emotionally intimate way they once did.
When faced with possible failure, Ifemelu remains calm and does what she believes is necessary to save their relationship. The idea of failure is first presented when the author uses a metaphor of the broken coconut to represent the broken state of Blaine and Ifemelu’s relationship. Ifemelu is saddened to ‘think it could never be a whole coconut again’, imagining her connection to Blaine will never be recovered. This rupture also changes her perspective; as she surveys the view from the kitchen window, the scenery no longer seems ‘burnished and unendingly new’, instead, the snowflakes are violently ‘flung’ from above. In spite of viewing her relationship as if on a precipice, Ifem does not act spontaneously nor forcefully. She does struggle to remain in control of herself, as connoted by the word choice of ‘shook’ when describing her hands as they held the rice. However, she forces her actions to be deliberate and gentle; she avoids conflict by holding back her ‘momentary anger’ and by asking him neutral questions, like ‘if she should add more water’. This moment is a critical turning point for her and proves just how much she values her connection to Blaine.
This passage is particularly meaningful in the sense it presents a more mature Ifemelu; she has learned from her previous two relationships that closing in on herself and acting in defiance are not effective ways to move forward. Though Blaine remains ‘steely’, her new approach to conflict allows for a much greater possibility of reconciliation.
Reference: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. New York: Anchor, 2013. Print.
Learning From History
Although shattering a stained glass window depicting slaves carrying bales of cotton is an effective way of fighting social injustice, there are less destructive alternatives to confront the inequality. As Corey Menafee, the man who committed the crime, says, “‘there’s always better ways of doing things like that than just destroying things.”’ The stained glass “‘wasn’t my property, and I had no right to [smash] it.”’ By smashing the window, Menafee caused glass to fall, “‘onto the street near a passerby, endangering her safety.”’ As a healthy alternative to breaking the glass, Mr. Menafee could have started a protest outside the dining hall, which one could argue would have been as effective. Moreover, history cannot be changed, and people need to understand that. Slavery will forever be ingrained in the history of the United States. However, current social injustices are malleable. The United States of America, as a nation, can learn from history and prevent it from repeating itself.
As I looked through the Walt Whitman tweets today, there was one that I found remarkably intriguing. The tweet, from the Atlantic, about plastic waste in our oceans and communities. I have to admitit was one of the coolest tweets I have ever come across. I feel, in today’s world, people are aware of the plastic waste problem we face but people just don't know what to do except recycle plastic and not to liter. Men like Robert Bezeau are the ones making a difference in the world. Not only are his methods of creating homes by inserting plastic bottles into metal cages helping the environment.. It is helping tremendously. According to Robert one home, on average, takes 20,000 plastic bottles to create. 20,000!!. This is not just for him and his home, Robert is creating homes for families. The plastic is not just put there to take up space, the plastic is used as an insulator. On average, the homes in that area of Panama need 2 air conditioners, but the average temperature on the outside of a plastic home is significantly less. Robert admits himself that the idea is a little crazy, but at the same time I don't think there is a better way to use a large amounts of plastic waste and put it to use better than creating homes. (With the amount that Robert is using) I think his initiative very well can make a difference in the world and it’s because people like him that are actually making a difference.
Morality and Guilt intertwined
Although Zits learns the importance of making wholesome decisions
throughout the book, he also discovers that morality comes with the feeling of guilt. In the first chapter of the book, before he takes his first trip back in time, Zits describes himself as ashamed. “I like to start fires. And I am ashamed that I'm a fire starter. I'm ashamed of everything, and I'm ashamed of being ashamed.” (Alexie 8) Ashamed is much different than guilt: being ashamed implies that one is upset with the values he/she is. Guilt is the feeling of regret or remorse after making a bad decision. Zits’ morals build from none to some as he lives through a consequential event in each character’s life. As the story unfolds, his change in heart becomes more and more evident; for example, when faced with the decision to either mutilate a dead soldier or be shunned by his tribe in Little Bighorn, Zits is able to reason with himself by thinking, “does this little white soldier deserve to die because one of his fellow soldiers slashed my throat?”(Alexie 77): something he would never have done with his prior ethics. His definitive transformation is unveiled at the end of the book where he acknowledges the weight of his guilty conscience for the first time. Before, Zits identified morality solely as a trait that he did not have, and he associated its absence with the reasoning for the lack of love in his life. After many trips back in time, Zits realizes that revenge and anger are subordinate to the feelings of making a good decision and being loved. Although he finally embraced what it means to be a principled human, Zits is filled with regret of the immoral decisions that never truly leave one's mind: “I used to hate the rain. But now I want it to pour. I want it to storm. I want to be clean.”(Alexie 159) In "Flight", Sherman Alexie displays Zits’ honest shift between being ashamed and being guilty with the underlying theme of morality.
Friday, September 23, 2016
Obama Has a Life?
As the president of the most powerful country in the world, Barack Obama is constantly under public scrutiny. With a position as influential as his, Obama always needs to put his best self forward. Many simply see him as the “face” of America or “the man on the front page of the news every day,” but only a handful of people are familiar with his more casual, relaxed personality. Being labeled as the “president” has caused many to forget that Obama is human, too. He has a family, a favorite breakfast food, and favorite Netflix shows. Guess what? The president has a life, too! With a tweet showing his “summer playlist,” Obama reminded his ten million Twitter followers that he is not all that different from the common citizen. On his playlist, Obama includes classic artists such as Prince and Aretha Franklin, but also lists popular artists such as Jay-Z and Chance the Rapper. By asking his audience “what’s everybody listening to?”, Obama shows his interest in interacting with his followers. Evidently, the President is more involved in popular culture than many might think. He may just seem like a politician who perpetually appears on the news, but in reality, he is just as human as the ones watching him from behind a television screen.
La paix en Acadie
My unrelenting life ambition is to feel liberated because I deeply value my freedom. I have grown up in a distinct environment where I’ve had little to no restriction of speech, dress, belief, etc. and it is always a difficult adjustment for me to conform to the strict customs of other cultures, administrations, and households, though I often do a fine job of concealing my difficulties. Returning to school at Choate each fall is an extreme adjustment. Nothing is predictable about my life at Choate, unlike the summer days I pass raking patterns in the sand, sailing on gusty afternoons, and catching blue fish for dinner from my rowboat. When I arrive at Choate, I suddenly must follow a book’s worth of rules. I must take certain required classes. I must use strange electronic devices. I must have something to say, always. I don’t mind any of this as much as I do yearn (strangely) for it during the summer months. The independence from my family that I gain at school doesn’t exist at home, of course, and perhaps that is an important reason why I value the Choate experience so much. But freedom takes many more forms, and the forms I value the most are peace and solitude. These exist neither at Choate nor at home. These can only truly be found at my extended family summer estate in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Ardnamurchan club is an expansive summer cottage built on Spinney’s Hill looking over the Bay of Fundy, and has hosted generations of my family for 106 summers and counting. I reach the most peaceful state when I’m exploring the many islands that speckle the bay just off the coast. Some are densely wooded, others have sheep roaming around on them and raspberry bushes bursting with berries. I like to sail the Osprey out to Globe island and go digging for mussels. The only sounds to be heard are occasional gull calls and the gentle lap of the water against the boat’s hull. I’m so intangible out there, so remote, and so comforted by this isolation. Everything around me has nothing to do with me. The seals and the birds are hunting for fish, and the trees are desperately fighting the constriction of the old man’s beard lichen. Life is simple this way. Life means finding food, and going on endless adventures to do so. Then, life means falling fast asleep in the company of 40 other family members, waking for breakfast and attending the other meals prepared by the chef, and repeating the same strenuous, but rejuvenating activities the family has been performing for over a century. Peace and solitude are so luxurious. Once you’ve had a taste of them, your soul cries out for them during every lacking moment of your life.
Protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline
The heated conflict between Native Americans and the Dakota Access Pipeline Company evokes a nightmarish deja vu from colonial times: white settlers encroaching upon Native American territory. In colonial times, white settlers engaged in destruction and massacring of Native American populations during Bacon’s Rebellion. This month, live footage of the protest shows white men pepper-spraying Native Americans and attacking them with dogs. This modern-day brutality echoes the past. Often described as a cultural melting pot, America may have formed its identity through its diverse people, but there is still little room for the expression of Native American ideas. In the video, a Native American protester asserts, “We [the Native Americans] are the caretakers of the earth.” Meanwhile, the Dakota Access Pipeline views the land as a commodity. With respect to ancestral culture, both parties have retained their perspectives on how land should be used. Many people believe history repeats itself, and this predicament only confirms their suspicions.
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