"I dream a world."

"I dream a world." This poem, what it means to me is that he has his own beliefs. He don't believe as others do. Langston Hughes says that it doesn't matter what you skin color or what your religion may be. You are human and that is how the world should be. He sees what this world has become and he is full on against it.

He wants to start the peace. The picture I have above shows what Hughes is writing about. If only it would happen now. He is man that is saying what every man should be saying. To me it does not matter what color lays upon your skin because we are all the same. We are all to blame for our mistakes. No one is perfect. This lifetime isn't perfect. And the world we live in sure as hell is not close to perfect. And most of us could possibly try to fix it just by ignoring what race we are or what church we attend. He's dreaming of a world that doesn't exist but is desperately trying to be made.

You wake up every morning and wonder what will come next. We are doing better than we have done anytime before us. Back then whites and blacks weren't even allowed to be in the same room together to knowing we don't have to be apart. Though it hasn't fully transformed from that last world yet. There are very few people who still look at my skin and suddenly think that everything is come handed to me. That my life is so perfect. Little do they know, that will never be true for everyone.

The Sun comes up every morning but it still makes me wonder, will the sun go down at the end of it all. He is begging and pleading for peace in this world. Only you wouldn't know that unless you read between the lines. We all want what he wants, we just don't have the guts to write about it and share it with the world. When will it all stop? When will people stop caring about what we look like?

I wonder sometimes how far this will go on. Will they push it to the point where their will be a hardcore war, blacks against whites? Then again aren't we already fighting that war? Haven't we been since the beginning of time? What side are you on? That's what Langston Hughes is trying to spell out for us.

Cultural Underpinnings of Literature

Religion has definitely taken over the world these days. That's all it's about. Who you pretty much are in life has to do with what religion you are apart of. If you think about it most of the wars we have had are about religion, about who you are, what you are for. I never really took all of this seriously because it never really mattered to me. However, now I realized how important it is. It really went from the color of your skin to what church or no church you are going to.

We really have been talked to about this a lot. I never fully understood why we were taught this because to me it never really made sense to me. What you believe really shapes who you are and what you do. It really shows how you are treated. For example, after the 9/11 attacks that happened, now the whole Islamic culture is hated. Though, it wasn't all their faults, people seem to blame them all. Why? Because they are Muslim and they are to blame. The religion they are and who they will become, will never be the same after what happened. That's the point of this. Apparently the religion we are, shows who we will soon become.

Religion has definitely shaped the political world around us for a very, very long time. For instance now. Barrack Obama is black. He is Muslim. To the world he is the black, Muslim, president of the United States. That's all people see. He is either liked or not. Same thing with Governor, Bill Richardson. When he was in the running for president, few people were opposed to it because he was Hispanic. We will never know if that is the real reason to why he eventually dropped out of the race. In November, every few years or even every year, if you turn to any news channel, all you will see is a bunch of white old guys standing on stage making their speeches. And this is exactly why people "feel right about the white," because they feel safe if suddenly their president has white colored skin. That is how it has been since the beginning of time. Not that they weren't good presidents it's just that it was time for a change. Obama is that change. People, not all people, but people wont ever except that.

Back then teachers and students were never allowed to discuss race or discuss religion because it was not appropriate classroom discussion. However, now it's like no big deal because that is all this world has become, or has been since the beginning of it. We need to be aware of what is happening around the world and that is why we talk about it. All of that is going on around us is important and it will shape are world even further. 100 years from now people will be disscussing, and reading in textbooks about us and everything we went through. Right now to us, it's the present. And in the future to everyone else it will be History.

Race In America

The topic that I will be talking about in this essay is about Race (the reality in human differences). So much is going on in the world right now. Not anything good but stuff definitley worth talking about because everyone, incuding myself, should know what is going on in the world. All you have to do now days is turn to any news channel and there it is, all the craziness happening around us. It's suprising on how bad things have gotten.

The first topic of my discussion is about the whole contreversy with the mosque wanting to be built in New York City. This is ridiculous. I don''t even understand how someone could even let them think about building it just blocks away from where the 9/11 attack was. I mean okay I get it, not all Muslims are bad. It wasn't there fault but come on it doesn't matter because there communioty is responible for the attack and they need to be respectful to the victims of this. This makes me really angry because of all places to build a mosque, they have to build it there. It's awful. However, they have the right to. No one can stop them from doing it. All i know is that I would keep fighting for what is right, because what they are doing, is not right at all.

The second most talked about story happening would be the burning of the Korans in Florida on saturday September 11. Which of course would be 9/11. People are just going crazy over this. You know we just got out of a war and now because of this one man, were going to go back in one. I will be honest, I am really nervous and scared to see the outcome of this event. This is just wrong. It shouldn't be happening. At all. He wants to make a point and prove something to the world but there are many other ways you can say what you want without this. Just about every news channel is showing and talking about this bacuse everyone should be aware of their surroundings. "A world you don't know about yet, is a world you need to live in" well thats how I would say it.

Hush, hush

The book I have currently finished reading is The New York Times Bestseller, hush,hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. This book is amazing, definitely a lot of fun to read. It kept me in the zone. My opinion, this book is a page turning, jaw dropping thriller.It kept me breathless at the end of every chapter. I couldn't put the book down, even now to write this report it was hard to stop reading. Ha ha. The story it tells, has all my favorite elements in one. A general heart filled love story, it's suspenseful, mysterious, full of drama, has a little bit of evil and can be scary.

When I read the back of this book it felt like I was reading a script to a movie I was about to star in because it felt so real to me. Nora Grey, an average sophomore in high school who didn't have falling in love with a handsome stranger in her lifelong plan. No matter how much her best friend vee pushes her to be. Her best friend reminds me of mine, Kristie. Which is why I feel I can relate to this story so much. But back to the story, I'm getting to the good part. All of a sudden came Patch, who totally is hot and not even modest about anything. Odd part is he's been there all along, Nora just never noticed. Weird right? How can you not see that.. However, with his easy eyes that seem to see inside her, he draws her to him against her better judgment.



After a series of terrifying encounters, Nora thinks, well actually knows that it has to do with Patch entering her life and now she doesn't know who to trust. At the beginning of the book I thought to myself oh If I ever met a Patch I wouldn't give it a second thought, but after reading more into Patch's character I realized to be with him, would be more dangerous than you'd think. Patch seems to know more about her than even she does. She doesn't know if she should listen to her heart and run in his arms or trust her gut feeling and run and hide. You know the more you are around a person, the more you get to know who they really are. I would be curious about it all. The more she tries to find some answers, the more impossible events happen.



Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life. Dun dun..! This book most definitely made me think about life. I even had dreams and nightmares about it because that's how real it felt for me. I would really recommend this book to anyone who like this type of genre. You will really enjoy this book. I say that anything that can give me goosebumps, is worth looking into.

Haiku

Today will be the day everything will get better for everyone.

Everyday the sun comes up to show you there is no more darkness.

Each passing night, the moon comes out and you know tomorrow will be brand new.

Show And Tell

The object I would bring for show and tell would be, these rings that are my grandmothers. Well technically they are also mine. My grandma has these two rings that she has worn since I could remember. They are so beautiful they have an old feeling about them, and they come with a past. She has these amazing stories that she always tells about where they came from, how she got them, who gave them to her, etc. If you saw them then you would know what I mean. They are a certain type of turquoise jewelry, big rings, definitely noticeable.

She has this will that she wrote ahead of time for when her time comes, and she told me that when she passes away that they are mine. They will be given down to me because she sees how I am always admiring them. So they will belong to me. Everybody knows that your grandparents always have the best stories to tell because they've been around longer than most and they have really experienced it all. My grandma isn't much for jewelry, so seeing how she never takes those rings off, that shows you that they must be that much important. You always have that one item that means the world to you that you cant help but keep close to your heart, and one day that will be mine.

The main reason that they're so important to me is because my grandmother was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and we are not sure how much longer we have with her, so having the thing closest to her heart right now makes it less harder to lose her. Unfortunately not enough. You always need something to remember a dear person by, and those rings she wears on her bare hands will do it for me. She is the person that pretty much started our family. She is the one that holds our family together. Those rings may be old and worth a lot one day, but my grandma is worth more than anything I can do with the rings.

Show and tell is a time to bring and talk about something that is worth bragging about and something to be proud of sharing with the world, something that belongs to my grandmother is definitely worth anything I can share about it. She is the dearest person to my heart and I hope those rings that are close to her heart, will fill the deep hole inside when she does go to a better place. When her rings are on me, her memory will be deep within me.

My Sophomore Year

Well, let's see where do I start. This year has been crazy!!! That pretty much sums it all up with that one word. I had my ups and downs. Sophomore year was definitely a challenge. However, it made me grow up and actually start to think. I snapped backed into reality and realized this is where my life begins. This is where it all happens and starts to unfold.

Yes, the work was harder and stronger. I had a lot of long, sleepless nights due to homework and studying. But I guess in the end, it payed off. Sometimes I wanted to just give up and just not care anymore because I was stressed and stressed for weeks and weeks at a time. I was almost close to not trying anymore but I realized something, I wouldn't just be giving up sophomore year, I would be giving up the rest of my life. I was to that point where I just hated my teachers for doing this to me. For giving me work I sometimes didn't understand, or for handing out tests that sometimes I didn't pass. Then I woke up one morning and realized they're trying to help me, not hurt me. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't of made it to my almost junior year. The beginning of the year I slacked off, but when it came to the end I was scared there wouldn't be time to catch up. That's not what I want to do in life. It wasn't just the work that was hard at times, it was the stuff that happened out of the classrooms that was hard also. Drama, drama, drama. No matter what school your at in any state or country, there will always be craziness. Although it was all overwhelming at times, I never back down from a fight. As I learned in my classes as well. I don't regret the tenth grade, I would change a thing because as we all know these are memories, good and bad, we will cherish them forever. I'll tell you one thing though, my brain is totally dead. Just as it is every end of every year. I loved this year like I've said but I cannot wait until summer!!!!!

There have been fights and fits, old teachers getting fired and new teachers joining our future, F's and D's, fire drills and food fights, games with loses and wins, friendships going bad and breakups very sad, fears and tears, smiles and laughs, heartbreaks and headaches, and even referrals too. However, believe it or not this all has changed our lives. Forever. In some ways, better than others. There has been changes in my life throughout this year. Some I was not certainly ready for, but came to me fast and hard like a baseball roaming through the air. I tried as hard as I could to catch what was thrown at me. A lot of pressure came with sophomore year but I wont let myself down.

Someone once told me, "Sophomore year is the most important year for you in high school." Now, when this teacher told me that I thought to myself "Yeah right, what do you know, you haven't been a sophomore for a long time." :) Well turns out you were right Mr. Leh, it was important. Those words stuck in my head for the rest of the year. No pressure or anything right? :) Well I feel as if I could of done better. Good thing I still have two years to make up for it! Some would agree that finals are the worse part of school. It is true but what is also true is that it's what sums up the whole year and really gives us a good look at what this year did for us. I learned so much this year. Every year I learn a little more and this year was more than a little more.

Though this year was very powerful, I wouldn't change a thing, because I like a challenge and I haven't given up so far and I never will. I have never tried so hard to succeed in my whole life. Not just in school but out of school too. High School is just going by way to fast, and to be a honest I'm a little scared of it ending. All my life, people have always expected less of me, to be honest I like it when they do because then I can give them more. And every year I pass it's like a slap in the face for them. I know more than I did before I got here and that feels good to say. It's true what they say, High School is the best time of your life. I wont ever forget it. Any of it. None of us would have made this far without each other. Without every ones help. So those teachers that drove me nuts all year, I realized they have touched my life in a positive way. They have grown on me, they're not just my teachers anymore, their my friends too. I thought my life wouldn't begin until after school was over, but I guess today I realized that its just begun. I can't wait to continue this journey at this school. I think that I have laughed my way through school. If that makes any sense at all. To say the least, Sophomore Year has been a roller coaster ride through it all, and those make me nauseous.. So tomorrow when we walk out of this building, some of us anyways, it wont be the end, because it's just starting.