Be True To Yourself, Its What Makes Who You Are

I have just finished the book "The House On Mango Street" By Sandra Cisneros. This book is about a 12 year-old girl, Esperanza, who has moved from house to house ever since she was a little kid. She changes throughout the book, because in the beginning, she doesn't even know what she is in this world. So, throughout the book she goes along making of herself what she wants to be for the future and by the end she realizes what she is and that she must love herself because that is what makes her beautiful.

In the beginning of the book, Esperanza doesn't want to be herself, come from the background she comes from, or even have the name she was given. She wants top change everything about herself. "At school they say my name funny.... I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees." (1) This shows that she feels out casted because of her name. She feels that her name is not her personality, and doesn't even come close to trying to show it, that is something that shes fixes later in the book, but also as the book goes along her feelings about a lot of things about herself change.

By the end of the book, Esperanza was more self confident and let lose more to find the inner her she never thought could be there. She learned to accepted who she is, even the funny ways people say her name because it is all part of who she is and will always be. "Today we are Cinderella because our feet fit exactly.... Lucy, Rachel, me tee-tottering like so. Down the corner where the men can't take their eyes off us. We must be Christmas.... On the avenue a boy on a homemade bicycle calls out: Ladies, lead me to heaven." (40-41) This shows that she was willing to go out and try new stuff, as long as it meant finding the person she is inside. Also, Lucy and Rachel are friends she made on mango street, she had never had official friends before this and she was happy to finally be starting a friendship she felt would last forever.

I can conclude from all the details from the text that Esperanza had low self-esteem and needed to find who she was as a person so that she could, in the future, be a person that she could be proud of.

Speaking Up Is One of the Best Ways to Fight for Yourself

I finished the coming of age novel, "Speak" By Laurie Halse Anderson. The main character, Melinda, is a high school freshman at Merryweather High. She just got there and everyone already hates her. Her coming of age event was actually kind of tragic. She was raped at a party and called the police. Many of the students there got arrested for under aged drinking. No one was every willing to listen to her side of the story. Throughout the book, Melinda changes as a person. She goes from being quiet and reserved to being strong and willing to fight for herself.

At the beginning of the book, Melinda was very quiet and reserved, mostly because she was out casted. She was left by some of her closest friends and she changed in such a way that now she wouldn't talk to anyone and didn't communicate with others.

"I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, and the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with. I am an outcast." (4)

This shows me that once she entered school she was already discouraged and felt that she was going to be a failure at high school. Here, she shows low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence, but as the book continues she shows herself that she can be better than that and changes her whole attitude about school.

At the end of the book, Melinda was stronger and knew that sooner or later she would have to fight for herself. She went through so many things that made her stronger through this process we call maturing and it taught her life lessons about who she is inside, as a person.

"I don't know what it is; standing up to Heather... or maybe the look on moms face when I asked if she'd let me redecorate my room... Too much sun after a Syracuse winter does stuff to your head, makes you feel strong, even if you aren't. (180)

 This shows that she grew stronger over the time period of the whole school year. She became more self-confident over time and finally told her story, whether people wanted to hear it or not. This shows how she changed over time.

The details from this book lead me to believe that the author wanted to show us that youth is a tough stage in life, but that the only way to get through it is to buff up and fight for ourselves, or else we'll always regret the time we didn't speak up.

Essay on an Article

In the articles I read, Prosecutor Files Charge of 2nd-Degree Murder in Shooting of Martin By Lizette Alvarezand Michael Cooper ( http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/prosecutor-files-charge-of-2nd-degree-murder-in-shooting-of-martin-631104/ ) and George Zimmerman Charged With 2nd Degree Murder in Trayvon Martin's Death By Matt Gutman, Candace Smith and Pierre Thomas ( http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-charged-murder-trayvon-martin-killing/story?id=16115469 ), talked of the charges made against George Zimmerman. It also gives a background of the whole story and what happened. This how the story goes, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year old who wasn't carrying any weapons and didn't have any crimanl records was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, the watch coordinator for the neighborhood in a small community in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman was charged of 2nd-degree murder and then taken into custody. I disagree with this article because I don't think Zimmerman diserved to get charged with 2nd-degree murder, I think he should've been charged with constructive man slaughter.

One reason I think that George Zimmerman should've been charged with constructive man slaughter is because 2nd-degree murder is killing with the intent to do harm but not the intent to kill,  example - shooting someone in the leg with the intent to wound but not kill, and then the victim bleeds to death.
This could've been the case with Zimmerman and Martin, but there is no way on Earth to know if Zimmerman intended to kill Martin. This shows me that with the lack of Zimmerman's knowledge you would never know if Martin's death was intentional or not, which leads me to believe that Zimmerman should've been charged with constructive man slaughter.

Another reason that I believe Zimmerman should've been charged with constructive man slaughter is that constructive man slaughter is when someone kills, without intent, in the course of committing an unlawful act. The malice involved in the crime is transferred to the killing, which results in a charge of man slaughter. This implies that Zimmerman was commiting an unlawful act when Martin was killed. The unlawful act Zimmerman was commiting as Martin was killed was that he was stalking Martin. That led for Martin to fear for his life and fight, which got him killed. Martin had every right to fight for his life because he was being stalked and threatened. This leads me to believe that Zimmerman should've been charged with constructive man slaughter.

"Tracy Martin said, however, 'This is just the beginning. We have a long way to go.. and we will march and march and march until the right thing is done.' O'Mara (Zimmerman's lawyer) said that the case has become emotionally charged and that his client 'is concerned about getting a fair trial. We need to calm this down and it needs to be tried in a courtroom.'" (Gutman, Smith and Thomas)

Even the Martin family wants more justice for their son that was so recklessly killed. They know that this isn't the right thing that should be done and this piece of evidence is what shows me that Zimmerman should be charged with constructive man slaughter.

All these things are what show me that not only was justice not served but that even the Martin family knows that justice wasn't served for their dear family member. So, in all I disagree with the fact the George Zimmerman was charged with 2nd-degree murder.

Blogpost on Plagarism

In the blog post that a student did, what the student did wrong was that the student literally copied and pasted the words from their source. That was very wrong. What he/she could do to include the source was that they could paraphrase the words or even quote the words directly from the source.

"There is the night sky filled with swirling clouds, stars ablaze with their own luminescence, and a bright crescent moon." (Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night)

One way to avoid plagiarizing is just knowing the fact that you can defiantly be penalized for it in. Not only that but the fact is that it is wrong. Another way to avoid plagiarizing is to always cite your sources and always use different ways to include your sources so that it won't be counted as plagiarism. Also, if you paraphrase or use quotations, that isn't plagiarism because in you must cite your sources to do that. One last way to avoid plagiarizing is to never copy and paste directly from a source. That is one thing that could get you a 0 on a paper. So, in all never plagirize.

My Favorite Blog Posts

My favorite blog posts were Guadalupe's and Sofia's. Guadalupe's blog had a lot of detail and description. I love how she explains herself and uses the book to back herself up. She also had a good main idea. Guadalupe also connected all the books of one series to her one main idea and I really loved that. Sofia's blog had a lot of background information on everything that she talked about. You could tell that she defiantly researched her topic. Not only did she explain what she saw in the painting, but she also explained what was in the picture she wrote of.

I think that in my blog posts, I could use more evidence to back up my themes. This would help me prove my point better and explain the topic to the reader in a smoother way. I could also include more background information so that the reader will be more informed and can better understand my point of view. One more thing that I could do is that I could include more details and descriptions into my posts. They could help me explain myself in a better way.

Much Ado About Nothing, but still about something

I think that the play Much Ado About Nothing was really great and there were a lot of things that made it great, from the actor to the lights. One thing that made the play great was that the actors were acing great. They projected their voices and were sure to articulate, which was necessary because the language of Shakespeare isn't as easy to understand as the English language. Also, the actors not only spoke the words, they felt the words. They also used body language and whether they were talking or not, everyone on stage in a scene was using body language to express what they were doing in that scene. The actors did this in such a way, like if they were speaking through their bodies. Another thing that made the play good was the costumes that the actors wore on stage. It showed the actors personality, in a way. Also, the costumes showed the mood for the scene.

One thing that made the play great was the music. Not only was it beautiful music but it set the mood for the scene whenever it was playing. If the music was deep and dark then you knew it was something bad that was gong to happen. If the music was jazzy or if a record was playing, as it normally was, it showed that the actors were having a fun time together in the scene. Another thing that showed the play was good was  the stage setting and the lighting. When they showed the two people in the moonlight with an crescent moon in the background it showed that it was night time. They also used spotlights to show if there was someone in the back listening in on the conversation so that the audience was also seeing the whole part of the scene and not missing anything.

The Boyfriend List (lots of guys that come with lots of trouble)

In the book, The Boyfriend List By E. Lockhart, the main character, Ruby Oliver, goes through tough times when in only a time period of 10 days she feels that she loses everything. The real problem was also that she was having panic attacks and she got them whenever she was overwhelmed with emotions. She wants them to stop but the reason she gets panic attacks is because she doesn't express her emotions. That's where Dr.Z comes into save her. Dr.Z is her shrink that saves her life from eternal attacks. She teaches her how to control them.

I went from being just a leper to being a leper and a famous slut. By Friday,the girls bathroom in the main building had a ton of anti-Roo graffiti, I can only imagine the boys'.

Here she also has a panic attack because she is overwhelmed by the fact that everyone thinks badly of her, not that she deserved it or anything she just shouldn't have let Kim at the boy she was in love with and Kim shouldn't have been a man-stealer and back-stabbing friend like that. If it were me I now I would be mad but I most  definitely wouldn't have panic attacks because I wouldn't put up a wall and not let people see that I am going through tough times, if anything I would tell someone about it.

Another example of a time when she had a panic attack was when she had the party at her house. She had her panic attack because she did many things wrong that night that might regret for the rest of her life. For one thing she drank beer for the first time in her life and as expected did get drunk, but worse of all was that her mom caught her in the act of drinking and was so astonished, she didn't even know what to say to her one and only daughter and child. If I were Ruby's mom would be very disappointed but because at the time she didn't know what her daughter was going through she didn't know that her daughter felt like her life was crumbling around her and felt she couldn't go to anyone for help.

In all, Rubys' panic attacks are caused by a feeling of overwhelming emotion and that was her big problem, but Dr.Z helped her find ways to stop her attacks or prevent them. She told Ruby to take in deep breathes so that she could calm herself before talking to anyone or confronting a situation.

Romeo and Juliet Characters: My Favorite and Why

In the book I am reading right now, Romeo and Juliet, I have noticed a character in the play. His name is Count Paris. This character has his good side but I think it's important to recognize his bad side, as well. He is my least favorite character in this book.

Count Paris' good side is that he is very rich. The good part of being rich is that you can provide for the family you have if you have a family. He wanted to marry Juliet and because he was so wealthy his mother was definately alright with it. Count Paris would be a great provider for Juliet and their children if they had gotten married and had children. So, inall Count Paris' good side is that he is rich.

Count Paris' bad side is that he is very desperate about the whole situation and he is very persistant. I think that it is just disgusting that he would want to marry a little 13 year old girl and have babies with her. Legally in the modern times we live in now, that is RAPE. It is even worse that Juliet's mom acts as if she wants to marry Count Pairs herslef. She tries her best to get Juliet to like him because he is a" man of wax," but in reality his is only the ideal man for her, not for Juliet.

In all, I think that the bad side of Count Paris out-ways his good side mostly because money is great but there is nothing to money if your personality is horrible and the girl who you will be marryng will have to deal with that huge ego for the rest of her life. Count isn't marrying Juliet for herslef, he's marrying her to have children with her and to provide for her, even though she is only 13 years old. I am glad that atleast Juliet's father cares about what she thinks about marrying Count becasue if all she had was her mother she would really have a tough life.

Romeo and Juliette

Dearest friend of mine,

So far in Romeo and Juliette there has been a huge fight between the Capulets and the Montagues. At first, it started with Sampson and Gregory, then Tybalt ang Benvolio got into the fight then people came out to the streets to defend there side. But then, in comes Prince charming and stops all their fighting and tells them, "If their is anymore fighting and you disturb the streets of my city you will pay for it with your life." So, they go off, but as Lady Montague and Montague are speaking Lady Montague says, "Where is Romeo, I am glad to know that he wasn't there at the time of the fighting." This is because Romeo is madly in love with a maiden named Rosaline, so he stayed in his room weeping of how their love will never be. So, Lady Montague and Montague leave so that Benvolio, Romeo's cousin can talk to him amd tell him who is the maiden he so loves so much and they can all know. I have noticed that Benvolio is a person of trust in the Montague's family because not only did Montague talk directly to him but then he told him to talk to his son to get stuff out of him. I've also noticed that this ancient grudge that has been held is not only between the two families, even the people of the streets take part in this fight. My first time reading this book has been great I think that alot of it is interesting, if only it wre in more modern words so that I could understand it easier. I love the passion that they have for everything they do, both the Capulets and Montagues give all their heart to fighting for the side they have been born into. Though, I do feel it is a bit dramatic and hate to see too much drama put into something so unecessarily, though I do appriciate their comitment to each ones families'.

Goodbye Dearest Friend,
Gabriela

Poem "The Starry Night" By Anne Sexton

The Starry Night
By Anne Sexton

"That does not keep me from having a terrible need of-shall I say the word-religion. Then I go out at night to paint the stars." Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother.

The town does not exist
except where a black hair tree slips
up like a drowned woman into the hot sky.
The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars.
Oh starry night this is how
I want to die.

It moves. They are alive.
Even the moon bulges in it's orange irons
to push children, like a god from it's eye
The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars.
Oh starry starry night! This is how
I want to die:

into that rushing beast of the night
sucked up by the great dragon, to split
from my life with no flag,
no belly,
no cry.

When I read this poem I felt that it was really different from other poems I've read. I doesn't really have a rhyming scheme to it. It has six lines in the first two stanzas then in the last stanza there is only 5 lines. This poem is an Ekphrasis poem and a Confessional poem. A ekphrasis poem is a poem that describes a mute work of visual art. A confessional poem is a detailed poem about a poet's personal life. It's a mix of both.

The first stanza is a description of Van Gogh painting. Like the cypress tree as a drowning woman into the hot night sky. It also says that the night boils with eleven stars, those are the eleven stars in the painting. It also says that the town doesn't exist, it is silent, that's the town painted on Van Gogh's painting.

The second stanza is to describe how the night sky felt to either the poet or the painter himself. It says it moves they are all alive. I think that means the sky and everything in it are all alive. Then it says "like a god from its eye", I think this was to show the religious side of him that he felt he so desperately needed.

The last stanza is to show and express how it is that he wants to die. "Into that rushing beast of the night" I think he wanted to be one with the sky. He wanted to be sucked up by that great dragon, the beast of the night. "To split from life with no flag, no belly, no cry," he was letting himself die and let go, relax into the deep sleep which would be death for him.

First Sonnet Draft

This is a poem about a special someone out there who loves me dearly.

To see how bright I am I wish she'd see,
I work so hard to try and get her love,
If only she could be that proud of me,
No things would matter not the stars above.
I tell her the truth but it only makes her mad,
She thinks my friends are what make me this way,
To see her so pissed, it just makes me sad,
I wisk I could take a rest for a day.

But everday's hard I try and I try,
To show her I'm smart, as smart as can be,
No need, her love level for me is high,
I'm her kid, she loves me just cuz I'm me.

She pushes me to try to be my best,
So it's alright now that I can take a rest.

Christ Redeemer Poem - El Greco

Christ redeemer,
sitting straight and stiff,
silent and still,
some say he is a myth.

Holy and all powerful,
yet humble and befriending,
peaceful and kind,
soon to the heavens you'll be accending.

He is know for his miracles,
all across the land,
and he shows his holiness,
with the bible in his hand.

What happens to love?

Does it grow beautiful pedals of joy?
Or does it grow thorns of hatred?

Does it fight until the end?
Or does it give up half-way through?

Does it mend the soul of the brokenhearted?
Or does it beat them down until they scream for mercy?

What is love? and why does it hurt so much?

What Is Poetry?

Poetry is.................
emotion,
feeling,
a story being told,
ancient,
love,
a way to express yourself,
an explanation,
life.

Poetry isn't..............
explicable,
fiction,
garbage,
or even a awaste of time.

I wonder if poetry is.................
peace,
a cure,
a smile,
a laugh,
joy.

Poetry is mysterious.

Christ Reedemer - El Greco

"El Greco" was the nickname for Domenikos Theotokopoulos. He was born in 1541 in Spain. He was from a famous century called the "siglo de oro", which was the "Golden Age", it went from 1550 to 1650. His paintings were very religious. That is one of the reasons behind this painting that he made. It is about the Christ, who also went by the name "redeemer." His paintings were wanted in churches and homes due to their religious purposes.

I chose this painting because it reminds me of God. As a christian God is very important to me. Jesus Christ is also a big part of being christian because I believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive the sins of a humans because we are all human and we all sin, whether we like it or not. Unlike other religions, Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead, even though he was 100% human, yet 100% God. This is the connection I have with this painting.

I think that in the painting, the bible in Christs' hands is to represent his holiness and how religious Christ himself was. This also shows how El Greco himself was very religious, as well. I also think that the position his fingers are in is as if Christ is blessing someone. He takes his index finger and his middle finger and moves them in a cross formation as if to bless someone. That is my interpretation of things in the painting.

I learned alot about era of the Golden Age and El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos). I also learned of a new type of way to paint, it is called byzatine, which is to paint with stiff figures. I also learned about a new painter I didn't even know existed.

After Ever After

In the book, After Ever After By Jordan Sonnenblick, Jeffrey, the main character, has a best friend who is in remission, because the cancer he use to have comes back, but he doesn't tell Jeffrey until way after he knows he has it back. Jeffrey and him make a pack to do beautiful gestures towards others that they can call a " beau geste." That is the one thing that they both decide to do for eachother.

"From now on I'm going to be nice to everybody-that's my beau geste. And if people around me keep acting like total snapperheads anyway, I'm going to harden my heart and be bitter until the day I die." (131)

This was Tad's beau geste at the beginning of the book. He was so mean and bitter that he thought if he was nice it would be a grand gesture. If I were him I know it would be hard but I would try my best to be nice because being mean and cruel doesn't get you anywhere in life except hell.

"Impressing Brianna isn't my biggest beau geste... You're my biggest beau geste. Getting you onto that stage is way more important to me than strolling across it." (204)

Here, around the end is where Tad starts to notice his bad friendship skills and is willing to sacrifice something to help his friend graduate and get his diploma. I think that if Tad didn't help Jeffery he wouldn't be passing grade in the first place. Jeffery's dad gave up on him when he refused to continue to help him with homework. Atleast he had Tad, his best friend to thank for his passing grade. Sadly, shorty after having his surgery, Tad's liver failed and he died in the hospital, but he never really left the hearts of the people who truly cared about him.

In all, the beau geste thing that Jeffrey and Tad was great because it just brought them closer as friends and made them feel even more like if the were to be family.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, but mostly the DRUMS

In the book, Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie By Jordan Sonnenblick, Steven, the main character, has a younger brother with cancer. Throughout Jeffery's suffering, Steven suffers alot. The one thing that keeps him alive are the drums he plays. They are his life and his daily breathe and the reason why he can handle the situation he is in now. The drums are his escape from the harshness of reality.

"...drumming feels great- physically great-while you're doing it..." (283)

This shows that he loves to play the drums. I think that if I were him I would probably run away from home because I'm not exactly the type of person that handles diseases too well. I think that this shows that the experience helped him mature more and grow up more as a young man.

"The only times when I've truly felt all right were the times when I was playing the drums." (53)

I think that this shows that he finds the drums to be a way of keeping himself safe and well. The drums are the one things that are always their for him. Not for his little brother with cancer, but only for him.

I think that thanks to the passion of playing drums that Steven had. He survived his brothers time of suffering. I think that without the drums he would've been lost.

Be My Own Leader

In the book, The Dead and The Gone By Susan Beth Pfeffer, the main character, Alex, and his two sisters, Julie and Briana, were in a state of hunger and were willing to do anything to get the food they needed to survive. Throughout the whole story, Alex had to mature just so that his two sisters could survive. He had to sacrifice alot just so that his sister could have food and could stay safe. This all made him a better person.

One thing that helped Alex mature was the fact that both his parent weren't home to be the leaders of the family. So, Alex was willing to step up to the plate and do whatever he had to do so that they could all survive.

"I am responsible for the both of you, atleast until Papi or Mami come back." (94)

I think that this shows that Alex feels alot of responsibility for his sisters and wants the best for them. Here, he had to send Briana off to a farm in the countryside, so that she would have enough food and they could all survive. He felt that making this decision was best for the family he now had to keep safe and alive without his parents. I think this situation and this decision he had to make made him prove to himself that he was a better person could do anything.

Another thing that helped Alex mature was that he felt he had to act like his father so that the house would stay peaceful, but at times he took things too far and yet still felt what he did was what his own father would do.

"'Who died and made you boss?' Julie said. Without even thinking, Alex slapped her hard across the face." (69)

After, he talks of how his father would've done the same thing, but unlike his father, Alex had a kind heart and knew what he had done was wrong. At first, he had felt that she got what she disserved because she had to respect him and that was that, but then he noticed that just because his father did that it didn't make it right. He noticed that alot of the things that his father did weren't right. He had to be his own person his own leader of the family. This was a lesson that he learned and that made him a better person.

I think that all the trouble Alex and his family went through was worth it becasue in the end everyone became a better person and matured. I think that this book taught me that when the time comes I may have to step up and be a leader, but I can't follow the bad things that people before me have done, I have to be my own person, be my own leader.

The Story For Those Who Can't Speak For Themselves

Judy Blume tells the story of the girl with no say in life. Willmadeene, Deenie, is diagnosed with scoliosis, which is a condition where the spine is not straight but is curved at a certain place. This causes alot of problems in the family because this makes everyone change there attitude toward Deenie making her feel uncomfortable. This causes her and Helen, her older sister, to become closer than ever.

Deenie's mom has high expectations of her daughter and this has always bothered Helen because her mom's focus is always on Deenie and her being a model this is Helen's breaking point.

"Oh Ma...you're impossible! Ma didn't give me a special brain. You made that up. And you almost convinced me, Ma...you almost did.... I used to tell myself it didn't matter if I wasn't pretty like Deenie because I have a special brain and Deenie's is just ordinary....but that didn't help Ma....it didn't help at all....because it's not true!"(131)

Helen doesn't feel the love she disserves to get. Helen never talked to Deenie, but as the story progressed I saw that Helen finally started to understand the difference between the love her mom had for Deenie and the "love" that her mom had for her. It brought them closer together because Deenie never knew that Helen felt that way, nobody did. Helen finally opened up about her feelings to her family.

Deenie's mom manipulates Helen and Deenie in the same ways, but they all include her lying to them so that she gets whatever she wants.

I started crying too. Helen doesn't hate me, I thought. She should, but she doesn't. We both cried so hard our noses ran but neither one of us let go of the other to get a tissue. And right through it all, Ma kept talking. "I wanted better for you," she said. "Better than what I had myself. That's what I've always planned for my girls...is that so wrong?"(132)

I think this just goes to show how selfish her mom really is. She doesn't even apoligize after her daughters have told her the pain they go through everday, instead she makes an excuse for her actions to try to justify what she does. She tries to live her dreams through her kids because she feels that she never had a chance to do what she wanted, she makes Deenie be a model because I bet all she wanted to be when she grew up was a model. This brings them together because it shows how the physically come together to cry and share they pain they've both faced together.

I think that this is an issue in many households all over the world that must be stopped because the hurt that this brings is huge. At times the person responsible won't be willing to take responsibility for their actions, like Deenie's mom in the book. There is no need to do this to a child specially in the tough times that Deenie was already going through with her scoliosis problem. I hope that this helped you understand how Deenie felt to know and truly understand the hurt her sister had held so long in her heart.