A POV of Poverty

A Unique Point of View of Poverty

A young child carrying grass for cattle. These are usually odd jobs any child can do for miniscule amounts of currency.

Image Credits


In my previous post, I introduced you to the topic of poverty in Cambodia. I provided immense research and information of why it's such a prevalent problem in the country today. One such factor was the effects of wartime, and another one is because of the deteriorating quality of education present in the country. After conducting a bit more research, I found out that the rate of poverty fell by almost 30% in recent years. In 2004, it was a high as 50% in the nation, before dropping to an astonishing but still troubling 24% in 2014. If the data was conducted in 2018, I would predict that the poverty rate would be around 13% if the poverty rate fell by 3% each year. As stated in my other post, Cambodia is backed by money from foreign aid. In my new research, I found out that such countries include the United States, and China. It is said though that China only looks at the potential resources and business that the country can offer, rather than pouring money in for the sake of human rights and living conditions. Over 70% of the country with a population of 15 million is under the age of 30, which is staggering for a country infested with poverty.


Houses on stilts that are deployed along the river are common sights to see in these kinds of areas.

Image Credits


Also related to the new information I found while conducting new research, is that while poverty is mostly in the rural areas of Cambodia (such as the countrysides and so), it is also beginning to appear in urban areas as well. Cities like Phnom Penh (the capital of the country), or Siem Riep (home to Angkor Wat), are slowly starting to see poverty rates rise. In my opinion, this is especially alarming because these are big cities and you should see people going to work and having conversations about the weather, not people begging for spare change on the cobbled and musty streets of Phnom Penh. The last piece of information that I found is that more than 25% of all households are led by a single mother, due to the wars and strifes that have occured during the nation’s bloody history. Combined with the existence of poverty, and an high rate of uneducated unemployed women, they often have to turn to the sex industry, which is another yet unofficial source of income for the economy. Due to this, there are a lot of question marks to whether or not the government should do something about this.


This graph shows the comparison between people in poverty and people who’s on borderline poverty. As you can see, the rate of poor people decreased, but the rate of people who are endangered to becoming poor is astonishingly high in 2011.

Image Credits


For my original research, I conducted an interview with my father. I produced a total of 8 questions, all relating to my topic. There was a lot of reasons for interviewing him such as time, accessibility, language barrier, and etc. But the main reason was that he is a person familiar to the country, with him growing up there himself. He to me is considered someone who lived through poverty. From my interview, I learned many things about him that I did not know or I knew but very vaguely. For example, my first question asked about how it was like growing up for him, and he responded by describing the hardships he had to deal with growing up. One such example included him saying that he would have liked to go to school, but instead he had to focus on working in order to provide for his family. A similar pattern I saw in his responses is that he believes no jobs and the government not caring are the main reasons to why poverty is so prevalent in modern day Cambodia. This leads me to believe that in order to extricate the root of the problem, the government must listen to their people more and there needs to be more jobs with higher paying salaries. These are huge additions to the understanding of my issue and I believe that learning from a person who’s gone through the same things as people I’m researching is invaluable to my knowledge. My personal opinion on poverty has not changed due to the interview, but rather it has strengthened. My opinion is that poverty is a major issue, and if it's not fixed soon, then the future of Cambodia as a nation looks grim and bleak. With this interview, this just confirmed my opinion and there is nothing that can even remotely change it.

The Interview


Here is the person I interviewed, which is my father who is pictured alongside my mother.


This brings my Original Research post to a close. I hope you find the interview interesting as it takes you to a point of view that is told by a person who experienced poverty first hand. Now for my Agent of Change, I plan to send at least 10-15 care packages filled with various amenities and cash. Said various amenities could include, travel sized bottles of toothpaste, shampoo, or instant foods such as ramen noodles or other various instant foods. Monetary values could range from $10-15 dollars which may not seem like a lot, but one  U.S dollar is worth 4000 Cambodian riel and most items in Cambodia such as clothing and food can be worth from around 2000-300 riel, which is a huge bargain. These will be delivered to my lesser relatives in Cambodia who I hope will appreciate it. This plan is tentative for now, but this is just a general idea of what I am planning to achieve for my Agent of Change. Thanks and remember, you can make a big difference to save Kampuchea ( កម្ពុជា)!


Take a look at my annotated bibliography!


Education vs Tuition

You can check out my first post HERE. In my first post, I talked about the role the price of higher education plays when students are in the application process. In my first post, I also talked hypothetically about how this could go on to affect the individual's life and any future careers. However, since my last post, I have done some further research mostly from interviewing. During the early stages of my original research, I conducted a questionnaire with the MIT admissions office and they provided me some informational and interesting answers to some of my questions. When I was conducting the questionnaire with MIT’s director of admission research and analysis, Rachel E. Kay, she gave me a set of links to various sources with information on my topic. One of the links I ascertained from Rachel led me to a page dedicated to MIT admissions there I learned that students from the class of 2021 who applied for aid in family income that was up to 90,000 dollars annually typically paid nothing when it came to terms of tuition. Rachel’s link also informed me of the percentage of students who graduate debt-free which is 72% of MIT entire student body and 91% of MIT’s student body receives financial aid. Over the course of my research, I learned that MIT participates in a program called questbridge in which the predominant idea is to recruit students who want to pursue higher education, I was also informed about how MIT awarded 97.1 million dollars in scholarships to undergraduates in the previous year alone. I was also provided a demographic of the 2021 class (HERE)  (HERE{for exact numbers}).

This directly relates to the issue I brought up in my previous post about the cost of tuition scaring graduating twelfth graders from applying to certain colleges/universities. MIT tries to challenge this issue by not accepting their applications based on what classes the individual took in high school but rather they accept their students based on what they know. So in my previous post, that student with the straight A’s and 3.9 GPA would be able to go to MIT without having to pay tuition if he gets into MIT. Besides my interview with MIT, I also interviewed my sister who is currently enrolled in a private university. I asked her a various amount of different questions such as did you ever think of studying abroad to if you had the option would you cut military spending to increase the U.S investment in education. Overall one thing that kept reoccuring in both of my interviews was that both the institution and the student believe that there are opportunities for those who cannot afford higher education. These interviews really added to my understanding of my issue because I now know that the issue isn’t there just waiting to be solved but rather it is being recognized and is on the process of being solved by institutions and individuals such as MIT and my sister. After this research, my opinions have differed from my original opinions for I thought that the colleges/universities didn’t really care and the individuals didn’t really either too. However, when you see different institutions going through the process of trying to revamp their tuition to make it more affordable for poorer students. It gives hope when you see major schools such as MIT awarding students with over 97 million dollars in aid so students can further their education without worrying about debt. One question still leaves me wondering and that is when will the U.S department of education effectively try to make the issue of the pricing of higher education a priority or will they ever try to do so? Not only does this question resonate in my head “what can the U.S do?” but also what can I do to change this issue? The answer to this question is fairly simple and that’s why for my agent of change I’m going to be contacting heads of government from Pat Toomey to Donald Trump I will try to solve this issue as best as I can.

To read original doc Essay with footnotes click here

Annotated Bibliography

Audio Interview

Question and Answers (MIT)

WNBA Basketball: Expansion or Financing?

As you read in my last slate post, I basically summarized why the WNBA should be expanded and why the players are being underpaid. Due to some further research, I’ve found out that it is more complicated and easy achieving this. I am posting again to give further explanation.

According to a recent blog post on Swish Appeal, there are many reasons why expansion could be a good or bad thing. One great outcome from expanding the WNBA is a more expanded viewership. For example, the WNBA partnered with Twitter in 2016 and ever since they joined forces, the WNBA’s views launched up. The more popular the WNBA is the more people will want to partner with them. Another reason why the WNBA should expand is because we are losing WNBA culture. When I say culture I am talking about legacies, talent, and history. For example, when the WNBA was at its peak it had 16 teams. They lost 4 teams because there started to be a lack of interest in the ownerships. These teams had extremely talented individuals and were extremely talent as a team. One of the old teams, the Houston Comets, were the only team to win the WNBA championship four consecutive years! They also were the only WNBA team that was invited to the white house. If we keep these teams alive and expand the franchise the WNBA could be bigger than the NBA one day.

The reasons why the WNBA shouldn’t be expanded are fair but can be solved problems. It’s no surprise that money is an issue. This source says that only half of WNBA teams actually make a profit in any season. These six teams are owned by people who also own a NBA franchise. There is also the wage gap the WNBA has to make up. There are too many underpaid players in the WNBA, expansion will make money tighter. The second problem this source lists is international competition. Players have been forced to go overseas to play for international teams so they can provide better for their families. International teams pay way more than the WNBA does, because they are in a better place financially. For example, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi missed the whole 2015 season to play overseas. They paid her $1.5 million.

The Bay Area is trying to make a change for the league. The Bay Area’s NBA team, the Warriors, are currently building a new arena. They are expected to move in this arena in the 2019-2020 season. The co-owner of the Warriors, Joe Lacob wants to make a WNBA team for the Bay area and host their home games at the Warriors current arena. This is great because that will be more people drafted in the WNBA each year and more publicity for the franchise. This is a beginning for the expansion for the WNBA.

My original plan for my Original research was going to be an interview with either the head coach of the New York Liberty’s, Katie Smith or the assistant coach, Herb Williams. I emailed both the Manager of fan development, Brett Tessler and the Director of communications, Vincent Novicki. When they both didn’t get back to me I tried contacting the coach of Imhotep's girls basketball team. Due to the fact that they are preparing for states, he was not able to do the interview. As a late result I decided to interview someone in my community who knows a great deal about the WNBA. I interviewed Diamond Wallace. Diamond gave me a different insight on the topic. She explained more problems that the WNBA faces, which made me realize that it isn’t entirely their fault that the league is so small and there is wage gaps. Diamond said “The only reason why I think they are doing bad is because there is not a lot of entertainment. A lot of people look for 360 dunks and crossovers and the WNBA doesn’t really offer that.”That is something I didn't even think about. I appreciate her cooperation and the knowledge she gave to me about my topic.

 

This is an image from my interview with Diamond Wallace.

I am not sure what I want to do for my Agent of Change. Diamond gave me the idea of creating a website to explain what I’ve learned and what everyone can do about it. I was also thinking of writing an email to various NBA teams to try to do an act like Joe Lacob is willing to do. I am open to ideas so please comment below if you have any.

For further information, please look at my Annotated Bibliography.


I have an animosity to animal abuse;I am ardent in stopping animal

Kayla Kelly                                                                                                                            3/17/18

English 9

Ms. Giknis

You and the world projet       

  I have an animosity to animal abuse;I am ardent in stopping animal abuse


                           My Dog

Before                                           After

How many animals get abused in the U.S

https://www.petsafe.net/learn/help-prevent-animal-cruelty

The Numbers are high considering the chart, 60% of all abused animal victims and 60% of them are dogs, 83% are cats and dogs, and if you think how many people abuse animal across the united state.The SPCA is is a good choice , because most time they have to euthanize animals if they don’t have enough room, but They said the don’t ethinzia adoptable animals, and they try to save as many animal as much they can which is also why it is also a good choice, and  they are getting less animals in so they don’t have ethinize as much, and maybe more room. And animal abuse is a very serious problem, and SPCA is still good because they try to help as much as they can, it is like me trying to help every homeless person of the street and taking them in to my home I can’t do that to all of them, I don’t have enough room to do that, not to mention I have small house, so I would have to let go of some people like what SPCA does, but now they probably don’t do it as much ( they do not accept birds , dogs, cats, small animals). An the ACCT is a good choice too because like my interviewer said the ACCT  is an open it take shelter,so they will take any animal bird, cats, dogs, etc. So if you know you can’t take care of an animal please take it to ACCT, or any shelter, because if you know you can’t take care of it it is a form of abuse and it is better off in any shelter. She also said that abuse is what they regularly see so don’t be afraid to take the animal in , but if it would be related to the police like your neighbor is the abuser then call the PSPCA.And if you help lessen the number of animal coming in , and to help people take care of animals, and if you don’t know how to take care of an animal but you enough money to take care of one then you can look on web sites and ask for help, don’t be embarrassed, there is more people like that than you think.and my other interviewer said that all my question where more for PSPCA for an iterview, but I was already running out of time for that when I got her response.                                                                My interviewer teeling me that I could hep ACCT with my agent of change

.

the other interview that said PSPCA was a better coice to interview fo r my questions

 

But Anyway, I have a dog(the first picture above) that is probably been through that, Although we don’t,know her back story besides her being shot 16 times and her being still here, not to mentions she had a couple of disease before the adoption center got her, and usually dog adapt and if she was wild she probably would not have a disease, but who knows she may have escaped, but I mean she is in my family's care for about 2 years in march 12th and she is very happy and she is always wagging her tail, beside when she goes for a car ride, tha vacuum goes on , and if we put on a tv show that has a gun shooting a one point like a mystery show,or if there is a fake gun like a nerf gun near, which would be the trama, but that is kind f why i am doing this.

Rabies: why most people terrorize dogs.

https://www.tes.com/lessons/ZfjkR0gtFqB-jQ/animal-rights

Dog are Abused 20% More Than any Other Animals in the U.S


But  Abuse can’t get unnoticed, and that means we have to start speaking up, I mean the abuser doesn't have to know a thing, most calls are autonomous, and you don’t have to tell the person that you going to tell, like almost every one of my site say to do, because it is important.And what is even more important is that 100% of people who commit  sexual homicide has a history of animal abuse which is kind of bothering that a lot of them do that, and it doesn't mean the other way around so if there is a neighbor who is abusing an animal doesn't mean they will commit sexual homicide so don’t be afraid to do your own actions and report them.Not to mention abusers, abusers don’t give the animals enough room for  them sometime to breathe and grow, or give them too much room, like the whole yard but can’t use all of the yard because they are chained up from the picture in many sites. Which is again terrible, considering the effect, which is physical and mental health issues.Or animal hoarder, I mean they collect animals and are like I can take care of them even though they obviously cannot, but they completely think they can handle everything but they have a lot cats, dog, etc.

And to kind of wrap this up a bit, I read the laws(which I suggest for you if you care for animal, because one of my site suggests it too in one of the steps for reporting animal abuse). first, animal abuse penalty includes the officer to file a felony charge(a felony is a severe crime and is viewed severely by the society, and can include murder, robbery, kidnapping, etc)dog t fighting is already a felony, and breaks down into different grade pentaly’s base on how hard the abuse is. And veterinarians have civil immunity( where you don’t get served the punishment) now I don’t get too much of this but if they actually harm animals I think they will get charged because rules are rules, I think it is only for checking things from the dog and stuff. And a little bit obvious but if they commit animal abuse they will have to give animals. And did you know there is a new law that if someone abuse horse’s they will be charge the same charge as abusing dog and cats.

For my Agent of change I was thinking of having a bake sale and and giving the money to ACCT, and I will be ecpically easy because my interviewer is working in funraising and money depratment. I had limited chocies to do think, because I can’t just walk up to a person like hay your and animal abuser I will call the cops and make sure this animal is safe, and there is volenteer options but that means I might have to do it way more than I thought. I have students run philly style, durring saturdays an hour after school on mondays tuesdays and thursdays, and also have robotics, not to metion I also have green season in running which means I have to practice in the summer, and all of that make My time very limited, and I don’t know what hours they would like me to go in, plus I don’t know how to get there, I haven’t even travel in there over there a thousand time on the train but I haven’y been in there, not to metion it is know where neer the train station and the close septa there is 53 an I don’t even know where I could even catch that,  and I can definatl not get another dog, my dog is j same way about elouse with other dogs and she is a nut case, we can take care of her but with my grandma, my grandma would be going nut, my grandma already freaks out over pretty much any thing we do (my dad, mom, brother, and me ,feel the her, way protective, always want to cleans, too much, but we love her any way). I could sent care packages, but I can’t take car of that, mostly likely my dog will rip up ANYTHING, money is better, she hates money and metal, when I show her money she is nor tempted to eat it.



                           





                                          Annotated bibliography

  1. “Animal Cruelty”Learning to give,https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/animal-cruelty

The definition of animal abuse is the acts of violence or negling the animal on purpose or at least mostly on purpose.and it is important to know which ones are which because, police or animal control will know and asses the problem, like if it is dog fighting, and you say i don’t know abusing an animal in a backyard, they might think oh only one and not bring enough equipment, to ring them to a shelter. This abuse can cause physical and emotional pain, considering my dog whenever she hears gunshots(even on TV, plus we live near an country club that has an gun range) she gets scared and when we first got her she was jumpy and whenever and man/boy try to take her collar off she would growl, but when me or my mom took it off she did nothing(she is fine now and is very happy and understands that we will not hurt her and stuff because now my dad and brother can take her collar off) so that memory will live on.

  • Animal abuse is very cruel and hurtful to other animals (I do not trust SPCA because if they run out of room for animals, they ethiniza some animals)

  • It is very horrible because animal are just like us, they have feeling just like us, so it is very unfair for someone to do that to an animal.

              2.“Animal abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in crime” PETA,https://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/companion-animals-factsheets/animal-abuse-human-abuse-partners-crime/

Studies have shown that aggressive animal are likely to be abused because people are afraid and a coward. 100% of sexual homicide  has a history of animal abuse.Albert Desalvo killed 13 women and abused puppies so it can back up my reasoning.

  • It is very usual for a sexual homicide person to abuse animals

  • And I am not surprised that aggressive animal get abused more,because again people are cowards

3.“Animal Abuse”Amarican Human https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/animal-abuse/

4.I didn't know that there was steps, I kind of knew some signs but I am not sure whether I will recognize the signs.owners often neglect their pets because they don’t know there pets need, but most of neglect is on purpose.but outrageous because human system can take calls right at that minute, but they get a lot calls so they will not take the call right at the moment.

  • We can testify or sign a complaint about the abuse like how you sign a complaint about noise

  • Neglect in both children and dogs are horrible  and can result in death

“Reasons for abuse” wildlife rescue and rehabilitation http://wildlife-rescue.org/services/advocacy/animal-abuse/

5.Actions can be active and passive, like hurting the animal and not doing anything for the animal. Like some kid decapitated dog and stuff and setting fire on their tails and butts.Passive actions can cause severe pain to a dog or cat

“ U.S Animal Abuse records deleted-What we stand to lose”National geographics.https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/02/wildlife-watch-usda-animal-welfare-trump-records/

The roadside Zoo neglected the animals including premature death. And making the monkey Dehydrated while performing experiment on them that is just rude.and whipping elephants and changing them.

  • I love elephants so I hate that they would do the elephants

  • And I hate that the family zoo would do that and I wonder if they ethinza



Extra websites:

http://placerspca.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/faqs.pdf

http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/what-distinguishes-a-misdemeanor-from-a-felony.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/animal-cruelty-pennsylvania-libres-law-20170628.html

https://www.today.com/pets/aspca-adoption-euthanasia-s-down-animal-shelters-t109029


Losing yourself

Throughout life people are asked who they are. This is simple at first with people saying their name, address, and ages. As you get older and gain more responsibility your identity changes to your major in college, current or past jobs, and who you are dating. These changes, while small have a great impact on how people perceive themselves. The changes lead, to the problem that today’s society is having. Today’s society Identifies themselves as being apart of multiple systems where there is no defined stability like in relationship and employment.

When people are in a relationship they are supposed to love each other and they are supposed to date and marry someone that makes them happy. When someone has a relationship based on materialistic goods, instead of feeling, it can cause unhappiness in the relationship, which could cause a divorce. Statistics from Mckinley Irvin Family Law States there are 876,000 divorces a year. The amount of divorce there per year is affecting people psychological identity and sudden failure of the opposite spouses will change the personals ideals and point of view of themselves. The loss of am important relationship like a spouse from a divorce changes the other spouse’s point of view. They question their view of themselves as a graduate student to a husband to I am a graduate student and recently divorced. They question what they did wrong and what they could do differently and what negative effect happen in their relationship with their spouse. The break up causing them to losing their identity. When both spouses agree to the divorced there is still a a identity crisis. Both spouse have emotional damage and Identity damage.

People who are workaholic can lose their identity by fully investing their life into their work. If they fully devote their lives to a particular type of work they are more likely to have no other way to define themselves beside their work. Working hard at your job is not a bad thing. They have a higher chance of a raise, promotion, and the ability to network. It can still cause inner conflict with themselves later on in life. Jobs aren’t forever and when  they retire from their jobs that they dedicated their life, what do they have? So much time of a person’s life is spent working to get a perfect job and once they get the job then the goal is to plan for retirement and to pay off student loans. They have little or no time for personal time and fun until retirement. Working in certain fields like medicine can cause a person to not have a chance to define themselves outside of work with eight to ten years in college and residency, While this could cause them to have a higher quality of life, it could also caused them to have a mental issue during like depression and anxiety with little to no outlet to let off stress. The fact that they don't have an outlet for destressing allow them to mentally have a breakdown more easily and lose themselves and who they are. So when retirement comes around they have no idea how to enjoy life because they don't know what to do because they don't really know themself.

The best way to stop people from losing one’s identity  is to stop following the principles of the previous generation. Throughout history people lived and learned from the beliefs of the past generation. With each new generation there a new set of principles that are commonly shared with everyone in that generation .With having ideas for the previous generation being pushed down to the next generation in concern of relationship and jobs. Past generations has there after college experience be to meet someone and they get married and get a job and a mortgage in there early to mid 20’s. They had to take responsibility much earlier than the newer generation. While the principles changes thought out the generation the ideal stayed the same about wanting to be a good spouse and parent and being a valued member of their respective community. The difference from the two generation is a small change of the newest generation having the choice in there early adulthood. This choice caused them to be able to  expression what they want in life before they have to be fully committed to a job. This is something that older generation like bosses and parents doesn’t really understand about the younger generation. These are not the only factor that caused people to lose their self-identity. In 2008 newly graduated college students found the economy in a recession. Student could not get any jobs during that time and this causing them not to know what to do with their life with no job employment in their field and. This made them not know how to fit into the world but these are factors that are man-made. We can all fix and change how we view society idea of a person self image. There identity, makes the next generation can become successful and healthy by the idea only they define their identity.


The Own Identity

The Bechdel test is a test where two women in the movie are talking about something besides men in the movie the Mako Mori test is a test that gives at least her own arcanist story without supporting the main man story 
Image result for the dark knight screenshots
The dark knight does not pass the Bechdel test because there are no women that don't that Men and most of the conversations are from Men 
It also doesn't pass the macro Moko Mori test because there are no supporting women who get their own arcs in the Batman story
Image result for spiderman 1 mary jane
Spider-Man doesn't past the Bechdel test because Mary Jane only talks about Spider-Man and Peter Parker 
Spider-Man doesn't macro mori test because Mary Jane is always involved with Peter on way and is only the love interest 

The own identity test is An actor cannot play a rase that is not their own identity 
To meet the criteria for my test the actor must play as the identity they are rascally 
If an actor is going to play as a character like a native American it has to be played by a native American

In spiderman (2002) does pass the own identity test because the characters in the movie are white and no other races


My Next Phase

The Next Phase

In the beginning of my journey to stop littering, I gave a basic definition and talked about what littering is. I explained the cause of littering, the effects, and a solution that could possibly stop people from littering. I also  gave statistics about littering that happens in our community. To see what the littering situation was like, I went out and observed my neighborhood.

Age Difference

The next task that I fulfilled with my journey, was field observations. What I was observing was the amount of trash on the ground and how frequent people drop their trash on the ground. As I was observing, I noticed that different age groups litter less or more. Then I realized that adults litter more than teenagers and teenagers litter more frequently. I looked up a website where it gives gives statistics on the types of trash on the ground and the different age group that litters the most. This website stated, “Those under 19 are the most frequent culprits, while adults aged 21 to 35 are three times more likely to litter than the 50-and-up crowd.” This information explains about the age difference when it comes to littering, because you would think that teenagers are the ones littering but really it is the adults who is littering the most and that has an effect on the youth. The youth doesn't care as much for their environment because they are focused on other things and they litter because they see other people do it. If adults are littering more than teenagers, it’s not showing teenagers a good example of how the world should always be clean. People should educate each other about the importance of keeping our streets clean.

This picture represents america being dirty because all the litter that is everywhere.

My Observations

For my observations, I wanted to see the amount of trash in my neighborhood. The first thing I did was look at the ground to see how much trash their was. While I was observing, I noticed there was so many cups, bottles, plates, paper and etc. After seeing all the trash on the ground, it was clear to me that my neighborhood is really dirty. Below are pictures that I took of the trash:

      

From the pictures above, it shows how filthy our neighborhoods look. My neighborhood, in North Philadelphia, isn’t the only dirty area; there are more areas in Philadelphia that are dirty. I was reading this blog post where the author, Julie Hancher, was talking about how dirty Philly is. She said, “Several neighborhoods actually have removed trash cans from their streets because residents will pile bags next to trash cans instead of waiting for their trash cans. Also, lack of trash cans throughout the city tempt people to throw their trash wherever – in a bush, etc.” This is one of the reasons why Philadelphia is filled with trash. From the blog post it says, “A few years ago I was on Filbert Street near Eighth behind our newsroom in the old Strawbridge & Clothier building, and I watched a woman in a parked minivan throw a dirty diaper right out her window onto the street.” Not only people are dropping trash on the ground while walking people are dropping trash on the ground from their cars.” This shows that since people are lazy to throw their trash, in the trash, they decide to throw it on the ground.

My Next Step

After my first post, I’ve been researching a lot about littering more. As I’m researching, I realized that some people do not care about their environment. Some things I was wonder was if people ever think before actually doing something? This is a question that I have in mind, because people don’t seem to care about what they do as long as it is done and out the way. Now that I have done enough researching and observing, it is time to bring this issue into a solution. One of my solutions is to have an impact on other people to show that cleaning up the environment can make a difference to the community.

You can see my sources here.

The Interview with Dr. Galson about the Bystander Effect.

My first blog post was about the introduction to the bystander effect. My first experience of the bystander effect was when I got jumped in the streets and no one helped. I decided to go deeper about the issue with the bystander effect. I found out that bystander effect is cause by the amount of people present in the situation. The more people at the site of bullying, the more likely they won’t help. With less people in the situation, the most likely they would help. This is because they think another person will step in and help. Also, they don’t feel like it their responsibility to jump in and help. Finally, fear plays on the people because they don’t want to risk their life or be the next victim.  

Some new information I have found since the last post is an experiment that have been done with 5 year old kids about the bystander effect. They are asked to color in a picture while there was an adult in the room painting a cardboard wall. The experiments were set up as the kid was alone with the painting adult, and another one where a couple of other kids painting with them who were confederates of the experimenter but were told not to say anything. In the finally one, they have the confederates kid be block by the cardboard but the non confederate kid can still see them which they call it the bystander unavailable situation. The adult would spill color water and the child would help them bring over paper towels. They found out that kids that were mostly alone help the adult while with other kids, only 50% of them helped. They discover the kids in the bystander unavailable situation still help although there were other kids there. This shows that the role of diffusion of responsibility is the problem and not social referencing

Bystander-effect
Bystander-effect
This photo shows a man on the ground but no one is helping because people think another person will respond and help out or they think of alternative things instead of believing he is in great danger.  
For my original research, I interviewed SLA’s school psychologist Dr. Galson. What I learned from her is we tend to follow the culture norms of other people. She explained how if there is a single person observing, the one observer will most likely respond. When there is several people observing, each person responds depends on the other people if they respond too. People will step in to help if one person around them also step in and help. She really helped add my understand about our thinking process when we are in the group to decide whether or not to step up and help. She said it really depends on your relationship with those group of people. If we look up to the person who sets the culture norm is doing a certain thing we tend to follow what they do. But for a person who are not like the followers, they most likely able to step in and help. She also told me to look more into the milgram experiment which has to do something closely related to the bystander effect. What I am considering doing for my agent of change for now is to make posters and put them around the school. I don’t know what I will put on the poster, but I will take the time to think about it.


Audio Recording of the interview with Dr. Galson:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1W-ag0sBlWz2JAUeFv9IOkdxA0K7kOoka

 

My updated annotated bibliography can be found here

Feminist Film Review

Feminism Film Review
By: Nate Little 

Introduction

The tests for films are called the Bechdel Test and the Mako Mori Test. The Bechdel Test specifies towards a film where 2 female characters talk but NOT about a different character. Specifically a male character. However, the Mako Mori Test specifies towards a film where at least one female character is in a movie and has a main role in the film. The character has her own perspective and CANNOT specify towards another character. Specifically a male character. These tests exist because we have many movies today where there’s either a male’s perspective film or a female’s perspective film but the female include a different gender in her film. One cannot aside from the other because one gender (the male) is most likely in every film. Many movies are also sexist, masculine, or feminine. 

Southpaw & Deadpool Film Essay 

Southpaw was a very uproaring, selfless, battle of an experienced fighter who battles his struggles and fights to keep his legacy living. Fighting to be remembered as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Billy Hope or “Billy The Great Hope.” as there were good reviews and comment rendering through in the movie, it leaves off as a good film but stirs up certain situations that many critics would question. One of those questions would lead to about his legacy, or if this was based on a true story. But regarding this towards feminism, that situation actually plays a big role. One role that many reviewers and critics would not even think of. At the beginning of the movie, the boxer wins a fight to win his “one of so many” championships. Of course, his trainers and his posse helped Billy win this championship, a certain someone was able to really helped him render through to obtain that title. His wife. Maureen Hope. She was the big reason for that championship. She was the prime core of Billy being the focus and winning that championship and giving Billy Hope the motivation he needed to win. 

Image result for south paw gif


Obtaining the championship was his goal, other problems persisted when another talented boxer Miguel Escobar entered Billy’s premises where he despised Billy (how every boxer supposed to be.) They want to win. Miguel got into Billy’s head. His masculinity raged when Miguel triggers Billy in which a devastating that made him lose his wife that night. Shots were fired and one of the bullets hit his wife Maureen. Beforehand, Maureen feminine side was trying to retain Billy. As she told him “it’s not worth it baby.” “Keep walking baby.” But as Miguel Escobar kept exchanging negative words to Billy. The film basically describes the masculinity in a man’s life and how it can change rapidly. This movie relates to the Bechdel Test where the protagonist is messing up and certain women (who played in the movie) was having the same effect in the situation. The movie does not meet the Mako Mori Test.  


Deadpool was, however, a fighting/action/love movie. I wouldn’t call it a happy loving movie. It’s pretty messed up. The movie consists of a guy who helps people for a cost. Whether if it’s hiring to take out people that other people want to get rid of/dead or whether if its a warning, he would help them for a price. Wade Wilson was his name. Even though Wade was living in a win-win situation and met this beautiful young lady Vanessa. An unexpected symptom came up as he found out that he had cancer. He didn’t know what to do as he freaked out and knew that the cancer was getting worse. He met this fellow at the bar to try and prevent cancer. But the outcome wasn’t on his specific terms. 

Image result for deadpool laying down gif


The enemy in the movie turned out to be Francis and they took him under his will. They froze his body, ran some tests, and made him into a superhuman. He couldn’t feel pain and he couldn’t die as he escaped but the enemy slipped through Wade’s hands. He couldn’t return to his love for he was different. He disappeared on the hunt for his enemy Francis. Beforehand, femininity played a role in this when his girlfriend cared for Wade’s well being, no matter how much Wade tried to hide his feelings from Vanessa, she just knew. Masculinity really played after the incident to the end of the movie by fixing his problems alone and not with others and not thinking he is good enough for the change he couldn't show to Vanessa. She wound up finding out when Francis had her and he took his mask off to hide the identity he was now. She, however, accepted for who he was. This film relates more to the Mako Mori Test because it included one female character, she had her own narrative when Wade supposedly died, she moved on to working at a strip club and living alone in an apartment. And lastly, she didn’t just support Wade, but she supported herself and made standards for her well being. 

If I had to create a test for a movie. My test would feature at least one male and female character who either have their own problems in the movie OR have problems on their own that they figure out together. Not one problem they both have to figure out. It can’t just support a man’s story or a woman’s story, they have to support both of their stories. I think it’s important to see this kind of criteria in a movie because people need to see that one gender is all powerful (especially males). People need to see that each gender is powerful in their own way and that figuring out their problems together can make a huge bondage for a man and a woman. Whether if they’re friends, boyfriend, and girlfriend, or husband and wife. One movie that meets my criteria is 50 shades of grey because they each never knew each other but getting to know each other (through sex) gave them a bondage but beforehand, they both had separate problems that soon brought them together to figure out. 

Advanced Essay #3: My answer of my identity and belongs

My goals for the paper is to not get the mistake I got from the pat two essay. The parts that I am proud of is the ending. The areas that I need to improve is the quoting. 

My answer of my identity and belongs

I have always felt that I have belonged to and was a part of the group, especially in the schools I was in both in Hong Kong and here in Philadelphia. While in Hong Kong there was only a little diversity and sometimes it was hard for me to be a part of the society. For one I have always enjoyed listening to American music while most people in Hong Kong listened to Asian Music. Also they have the different issues between Hong Kong and America as what I watch in youtube. So in that case it was difficult to relate. But in America, I didn’t have these issues because in America they watch and listen the same things as me, so it made it easier to belong to a group in America.

In my school, students accepted you no matter a person’s race, skin color or physical problem, so it was easy to be with others who shared the same interest. For me, I have many friends in the school that always talk to me, do homework and fun things together. This gives me the feeling that school is my other home. But when I was outside the school, the my belonging changed really fast.

The people will always judge your skin color, then they will think all the negative they know to look down at me. The worst things are the people who look down based on skin color, they group all the Asian together without recognizing that they are all from different countries. Where I came from – Hong Kong – it has different systems than China. To a person with enough knowledge, they would know the difference between Hong Kong and China, but to a person who doesn't have this  knowledge, they will think they are all same. In my experience, the people who know the place Hong Kong will think people from Hong Kong know more English than people from China. And also they will use stereotype to talk about you.

“What is your identity?” It took me a long time to find the answer to this question. Some people said that it is easy to find your identity, it’s just based on where you are born. But I don't  think it is that easy for me. I am different than the other students in my class. I came to America two years ago – I should have said I came “back” to America two years ago. After I came back to America, I always said “I am not American, but I was born here.” It just like a quote that I read, “You’re Chinese, but I’m not,” he told me, with certainty. “But I eat Chinese food.” It is saying though my parents are Chinese, but I am not the same as my parents. This quote can be used to reflect what I thought back there. Time passed,  and I learned more about my background. But most importantly, I now know more about myself, and about my identity. So now I can finally answer what my identity is to anyone.

My answer to the question “what is your identity?” is I am an Asian-American. How did I find this answer? It took me 15 years to answer but I finally understand it. When I was only starting to know about my identity I only knew I am an Asian. I was born in Hong Kong and, I knowy mother’s language is Cantonese. Those are what makes up my identity. Also it did not take a long time to change my mindset until my parents told me that I was born in America which is the opposite side of where we live in Hong Kong. After hearing that, my mindset has changed. I always asked myself “Was I Asian? Or was I something else? f I was someone else, should my mother’s language should not be Cantonese, then what is it?”

When I was in grade 8, I finally had the answer of why I was in Hong Kong if I was born in America. It was because my parents did not want me to remember the ugly side of Chinese history. So they went to America before I was born, to not remember the history of China. After that, my mindset has changed again to the question of my race, am I Asian or am I American? This question was asked to me after I came back to America. I did not get the answer immediately. Then I finally got it one year after I came back, the answer is neither Asian nor American it is Asian-American. So if a person asked me “what is your identity?” right now, I would said “I am an Asian-American, I born in America but I moved to Hong Kong to study, and after three months I was born. Then I came back to America in the year 2017.”

But to the society, my identity is just another Asian-American that was born in America to get the benefit from America. Some of them  will just look down at me. They will think since I was not from America, my English is trash and I don’t even know English. They will use all the negative things to say about you, just like your belonging.

At the end, all I can say is, I do not care! I don’t care how you look at me, if you hate me. I will live like you, eat like you, learn like you. I will keep using my answer to identity and belonging to live in America. I will keep being an Asian-American.

SLA Student Qualifies for World Schools Debate

This past Sunday, SLA senior Tigidankay Saccoh was chosen to represent the Valley Forge District in the 2018 World Schools Debate, to be held this June at the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Only 12 students from across Eastern Pennsylvania are chosen for this honor each year.
Tigidankay was chosen through an application process based on her commitment to Speech and Debate over the past 3 years, her 470 accumulated competition and service points, and her rank of Distinction within the National Speech and Debate Honor Society. 
Tigidankay becomes only the second SLA student to qualify for the NSDA National Championship, following in the footsteps of Kia DaSilva (class of 2017) who qualified last year, also in World Schools Debate.

Advanced Essay #3 - Follow Your Heart Without Guilt


  This essay ties in the topic of whether or not growing up with certain people definitely means following what they believe in. Specifically, going into one of those beliefs, I chose to talk about religion. 
          I am proud of being able to incorporate those two ideas with one another and am happy with the position of my quotes. I feel as if they are a big help with allowing the audience to relate to the topic. Although, I wish that I would have analyzed the quotes more rather than mainly give context to open up that understanding of essay even more.
     What is something you have that you are able to rely on? Everyone has a different type of support system that shows what they know and believe in. Something large around us that is an outlet for many different kinds of people is religion. 
    Some people may argue that being raised in a specific society with certain people will be the most determining value of how they will grow up to be themselves. There are some ideas that surround the fact that it is more likely to even be inevitable for people to act similar to the people that they grew up with in the future.
An idea that counters this is that there are many cases where people have actually gone the opposite root from the people that they grew around. Therefore, unlike the common perceptions that they will follow in the footsteps of those who raised them, many people have decided to actually use those they grew up around as role models for them choosing another path.
          Sometimes, that pressure of being assumed to simply fall under the same footsteps as those who raised the person pushes them to believe they have to be that way. Believing in something else could possibly make them feel guilty or that something is wrong with their behavior, when in reality they are finally finding something that truly resonates with them, discovering more of their identity. Along with that, they may have a fear in the back of their mind that they are isolated and that it is not a normal feeling. The truth is that there are other people who go through it too, for example Muhammad Ali. After gaining winning the title of being a heavyweight champion, he announced his true feelings on his religion and beliefs. This was in 1964 when he said “I believe in Allah and in peace. I don’t try to move into white neighborhoods. I don’t want to marry a white woman. I was baptized when I was 12, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m not a Christian anymore. I know where I’m going and I know the truth and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.” Not only did he decide to follow his own beliefs and create his own footsteps, he did it in front of many people to hear. Having celebrities such as him publicly announce something like that is encouragement to those who feel as though they are alone in their situation.  
Similar to Ali’s situation, in a household, sometimes your parents or guardians raised you to have a certain belief system. Depending on how strict your family and household is, some may take the person wanting to convert religion into a negative connotation. Although, some may be the opposite and actually be supportive of the change.
    Why change religion in the first place some may question? Just being born into a religion does not necessarily make the person believe in everything that is being taught to them. If you feel the same way and feel weird about it, it is okay because many people also feel that way. Just like Yusuf Islam who was raised into a Christian home, followed the traditions, without truly understanding why. “I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion.  I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way.  I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was in fact the door to God.  This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all.” 
          Whether or not you believe in a certain religion, or none for those he matter, it is completely normal. Being born into and being raised around people who may want to push you into following their lead, does not mean that you have to comply. Associating with another religion does not make you a terrible person, it shows that you have found yourself. So yes, of course the people you grow up around will influence how you are as a person, but it definitely does and should not limit you to their beliefs only.

Advance essay #3 Israt Jahan "Sports doesn't have to be masculine all the time"

My goals for this paper is for people to realize that sports doesn’t have to be all masculine and for only people that are bulky and strong. I doesn’t have to be someone who is a man and someone who is straight. I think anyone can play sports and it doesn’t matter what they look like they shouldn’t be judge or be harassed. I’m proud of the introduction paragraph because I think I have some good questions to think about in the beginning for people to think about. I think I can improve on the writing part and describing it.

Advanced Essay

In sports, men are usually super masculine and when there’s someone who is gay or have different sexualities or even female it can become a problem and people who are against these things starts to cause problem for others. Because it’s always shown in such a masculine point of view. Sometimes it goes as far as to where they can use a homophobic slur against another person. All of these things made me question “What exactly is masculinity? How would you define masculinity?” ”So are you not masculine if you're gay or other sexuality other than being straight.” “Why are sports so masculine all the time?” “Is there a certain mold that you have to fit in to or to get accepted into what’s so called ‘sports team’?”Why not accept them for who they are? Does it really make a difference or make the team look bad because they don’t look like term “masculine” ` that society put for people.

According to toxic masculinity in sports  I read about what other people feels about sports, and their experience. In this quote Gillian Reese talks about  how her highschool switched up the football team one day with the cheerleaders and it turned out to be fine “With football, guys are the players and girls are the cheerleaders. When I was in high school we had an event called “powderpuff football” where the girls would be the players and the guys would be cheerleaders. Why can’t this be a normal sport?” . I like that they switched up the sexes in football to show that not all the time it has to be the traditional way that society puts it. And if the sports are like this I want people to know that it’s not the end of the world and they don't have to harass other people.

This is story is about a time when I had personal experience with this whole masculinity thing in sports. It was one day when I was 8 years old I had to stay with my cousin because my parents had to get out of town and I had to stay with my cousin and his parents. He was in his teens so he was always moody,always said no to everything and didn’t listen to anyone. I didn’t have anyone to play with me and I had no one to talk with in their house so I chose to go with my cousin and his friends when they were playing cricket which is a sport that southeastern Asians play so I decided that I was going to join their game thinking nothing would go wrong, but boy was that a big mistake. “Can I play with you guys?” I said. They all  looked at me and they looked at my cousin like it was the most weirdest thing that I wanted to play with a group of boys. “What?” my cousin said. “I said can I play with you guys?” I said it louder. “You want to play with us?” one of his friend said “Yeah?” I said like it was the most obvious thing ever. “Get out your not playing with us!” One of the guys said “Yeah you are a girl” “You can’t even throw a ball.” another said “who said I can’t throw a ball?” “I said just get out” said my cousin. Then I walked away towards the garden feeling down because i didn’t understand why I couldn’t play with them just because I’m a girl.

In this quote Reese states her opinion and she also compares sports to dance to show it in a different way for people to understand. “Boys are always said to be more competitive; this is why sports were made for men! But in reality, certain characteristics are not built into you based on your gender. Gender is a social construct as well as gender stereotypes. Some stereotypical adjectives for males are aggressive, heated, and, like I said before, competitive. When you think of a sport such as football, one may want their player to have all of those qualities. When you think of a sport such as dance, one might question someone having those qualities. I think they both can be attributable characteristics to both sports, even though dance is considered “feminine” and football “masculine.”” I really liked how she compared the both to state it in a way that makes you think about both and compare them.

In conclusion I think masculinity is a term that society puts and everyone just goes with it and expects everyone to be that way and it’s more so really focused in sports a lot these days because sports is so big and everyone expects it to be the traditional way for everyone.


Bibliography

Toxic Masculinity In Sports.” The Odyssey Online, 30 Aug. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/toxic-masculinity-in-sports



Advanced Essay #3: Religion's Influence on Member's Daily Life

Intro:

My goal for the paper was to look at member or two of the Islam community and Jehovah’s Witnesses community, and how their life was influenced by their corresponding religion. I feel that I have a lot of sources that give thorough context, but I feel as though I didn’t analyze the quotes to the best of my ability. I plan to get better at this skill in the near future.

The unwavering faith a person has in a divine being or energy that they cannot see can be astounding to some. A person becomes people that over centuries have formed groups based on their beliefs, resulting in religions. From these original religions, subcategories called denominations have come forth due to different interpretations. These groups have been judged at times based on misconceptions built out of scandals and radicalism, but when forming opinions about something, it is best to look at the facts, or in cases, the religious texts or beliefs of the actual people. How does religion really influence a person’s behavior or actions and what lengths will they go to to prove their faith? Well, let’s start by breaking down a religion not too many of people know about. Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of the many denominations of the monotheistic religion, Christianity. Its members believe that the creator of the universe is named Jehovah, and its core beliefs come from both the New and the Old Testaments. They acknowledge Jesus as a son of God, technically making them Christians, but they do not recognize the Trinity doctrine or Jesus as the “Almighty God” (“What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?”). After gathering this general idea of what the religion was based on, one may become curious about personal stories to get a first hand account of members’ upbringings and/or conversions. My father was brought up as a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and he spoke rarely of the door-to-door ministry, but I felt like there was more he was not saying. Then, I stumbled upon Walter Hudson’s story. He reveals, “[Jehovah’s] Witnesses are religious in the same sense that radical Islamists are. Their theology defines every aspect of their lives and dictates the most trivial nuances of their behavior,” (Hudson, Walter). After some digging, some intriguing rules were “You shall not celebrate birthdays,”, “You shall not lie, but you may refrain from telling the truth to those Jehovah’s Witnesses deem do not deserve it,”, “You shall not vote in political elections,”, “You shall not abort your child, even if it is medically confirmed that the child will be born dead,” and “You shall shun disassociated persons,” (“What is wrong with being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?”). With these rules and pages more, one might run into some obstacles. Some of these rules could absolutely result in a small social circle at the very least and if you don’t get along with anyone in your religious community, a lack of friends. Steph Le Gardener speaks of being bullied when not saluting the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance, sitting alone during sports and holiday activities while others pitied her, and a loss of innocence during meetings at the Kingdom Hall (their place of worship) where no filter was applied for the young members when speaking of the gruesome deaths non-members would suffer during Armageddon. “My story as a Jehovah’s Witness child is not at all uncommon. As a matter of fact, I’d say it’s probably quite typical… It was demanded that I trade in my childhood dreams of becoming a ballerina or a gymnast for the dream of serving Jehovah 90 hours a month in the door-to-door ministry. I would have to knock on doors and peddle magazines for the prize of some day, being able to ‘play with a panda in paradise.’ I can tell you that the price was far too high, and the trade-off was not fair,” argues Gardener. Through her experiences it appears that this religion causes one to grow up too fast while simultaneously not being allowed to really be a kid. As those kids grow up they either stick with what they know or leave because of that nature of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and this results in the shunning of that person to the point where their own family is highly discouraged from speaking to them. Members also believe that the end is near, and go about preaching to save as many as they can, but with this mindset they are encouraged to sell their property and await Armageddon, resulting in homelessness. Society would look at this religion as quite extreme while devoted members believe that they are dedicating their lives to doing right by Jehovah and helping people to them who would seem educated, find their way through this religion and recognize that the end of the world is coming. A religion that is more well known is Islam. It comes from the word “salam” meaning peace, and the word itself means “surrender” to the word of God. The belief is that many prophets were sent to convey that Allah, the Arabic word for the one true God, is the only deity worth worshipping, also making it a monotheistic religion (“What is Islam?”). This religion speaks of improving oneself before trying to impact others’ lives, which is a profound lesson that seems to looks down upon arrogance. Some steps to self-purification are included in the Qur’an and the teachings of Muhammad: “Strive to increase your knowledge whether it be religious or academic knowledge. Endeavor to be an informed and active citizen,”, and “Improve your moral standards by cultivating integrity, conscientiousness, and right action,” (“Importance of Self-Improvement in Islam”). These statements are suggesting that by bettering yourself, you are bettering your community. One 31-year-old Chicano man talks about how he had used various drugs in the past as a means of escape from depression and was not even seeking to be part of a religion when he read the Qur’an for the first time. However, reading that religious text was a turning point in his life where through this religion, he reflected on the way he’d been living and how he could improve himself. “I have been a Muslim since 1997. I’m at peace with myself and clear in Religion….I think that Islam is the answer for the problems of the youth and society in general,” (“A Muslim’s personal testimony”). When people join religions, they don’t just join a group of people who believe in the same God, Gods, or energy as themselves, but they also agree to uphold a certain way of life based upon the divine beings’, prophets, or philosophers’ teachings. The Jehovah’s Witnesses rules are more like a handbook for life, giving strict directions that if followed will save you from Armageddon, while the Islam’s texts seemed to be more like advice on how to be a better person. Based on these texts people make sacrifices that they may not even be aware of or that they may painfully be aware of to do right by their God, God’s or energy. At the end of the day, these beings or energies that eludes our physical senses brings people together from all walks of life to form a sense of community.

Works Cited

“What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?” JW.ORG, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovah-witness-beliefs/.

Walter Hudson. “My Childhood in the Cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Faith, PJ Media, pjmedia.com/faith/2016/05/31/my-childhood-in-the-cult-of-jehovahs-witnesses/.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Rules - avoid jw.Org.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, 9 June 2016, avoidjw.org/en/changes/jehovahs-witnesses-rules/.

“My Life as a Jehovah’s Witness Child.” Watchtower Watch, 16 May 2013, watchtowerwatch.com/blog/my-life-as-a-jehovahs-witness-child.

“What is Islam?” Facts about the Muslims & the Religion of Islam - Toll-Free hotline 1-877-WHY-ISLAM, www.whyislam.org/islam/what-is-submission/.

“Home.” The People of the Book, www.thepeopleofthebook.org/why-bother-to-share-with-muslims/a-muslims-personal-testimony/.

PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/muslims/beliefs.html.

Advanced Essay #3

The skills we learn in school can be often be used in our daily lives. However, not all of those skills can be used. For example, as you get older the math you learn in school becomes less and less usable in daily life. The only real acception is a career that has a lot to do with math, like engineering or something involving physics. My main point is that school can’t teach you everything, and not everything you learn will be usable later on. The goal of school is to increase your understanding of different topics.

There are kids that lack things like social skills, and a school is not really focused on developing social skills. That is where the scouting programs come in. Scouting helps develop social skills even if the scout has Autism, which makes it harder for someone to develop those necessary social skills. I know because my older brother has aspergers and scouting has helped him to be more social. He still struggles with those skills, but his social skills are much better than they were. Scouting doesn’t just develop social skills, it also develops skills a scout may need to react to an emergency.

On October 11, 2017 the Boy Scouts of America made an announcement that starting in September of 2018 girls will be allowed to join Cub Scouts, progress into Boy Scouts, and earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Most people, like the BSA’s Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh,  agreed with the decision, and thought it was a great idea. “‘The values of Scouting—trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example—are important for both young men and women,’ said Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh in a statement. ‘We strive to bring what our organization does best—developing character and leadership for young people—to as many families and youth as possible as we help shape the next generation of leaders.’” However, the decision also received backlash from both Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders. “‘The need for female leadership has never been clearer or more urgent than it is today—and only Girl Scouts has the expertise to give girls and young women the tools they need for success,’ the Girl Scouts said in a statement.”

I agree with the decision made by the BSA, and think it is a good idea. Like Surbaugh, I think the values that the BSA teaches are important for all people. The BSA’s main goal is to teach the scouts how to be better people. The Boy Scouts does a great job at making sure each scout leaves the program as a better person. Just like an Eagle Scout I remember from when I first joined my troop. His name was Christopher Alvelo, and I had only known him for a short time when many news reports like this one came out, “A teen Eagle Scout, killed in a car crash, is being hailed as a hero for taking the wheel of his stepfather's SUV after the man suffered a medical emergency. The teen's actions saved the lives of the man and two other passengers.

17-year-old Christopher Alvelo, his stepfather, 51-year-old Joe Snyder and two friends were driving home from an Eagle Scout trash clean-up project in Pennypack Park on Saturday when Snyder suffered a medical emergency shortly after 12:30 p.m.” The friends in the SUV were two scouts also in my troop. Here is what happens next, “Alvelo, who was in the passenger seat of the 2007 Ford Explorer, grabbed the wheel and tried to take control of the SUV.

The teen was able to steer the vehicle off the road and into a parking lot for the North Philadelphia Jet Center at Northeast Philadelphia Airport along the 2800 block of Red Lion Road. However, he couldn't get to the break and the vehicle slammed into an unoccupied Paratransit van.

Alvelo died at the scene.”

These tragic events happened on October 26, 2013, but if Chris wasn’t a scout he may not have been able to react the way he did and save three people’s lives. At that time I had just started Boy Scouts and Chris was one of many scouts in the troop, so I didn’t really know him. However, I do know that at the time that Chris died he wasn’t technically an Eagle Scout. In order to earn the rank of Eagle Scout the scout must have a certain number of merit badges. Then, the scout must complete a service project they come up with and supervise. Lastly, there is a ceremony acknowledging that the scout has earned the rank of Eagle.

There never was a ceremony for Chris, but my Scoutmaster and my dad, the Assistant Scoutmaster, decided that Chris met all of the requirements needed for the rank and that he lived the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. So even though Chris wasn’t there to receive the Eagle Scout award, he saved lives and he truly earned the rank of Eagle Scout.


Advanced Essay #3 by Jacobo Pastor: The Light

Introduction

The Light is an essay that deals with the many questions that one may encounter while growing up. Who am I? What purpose do I have in this world? Jacobo Pastor describes his personal experience about a time that made a personal experience changed his own identity.

Personally I think that I got to analyze a topic that is very controversial and that no one has really an answer for it, but I would have wished to research a little bit more for others opinions about the topic


Jacobo Pastor

English 3/ Mr. Block

February 27th, 2018

The Light

Flying in a plane wasn’t a new experience for me, but the monstrous sound of the engines didn’t help me feeling at ease. Swallowed by thoughts of fear, the airplane wings did not look safe at all.  The plane that I usually associated with holidays, became an endless tunnel of uncertainty. I did not have a clue of what would come next. I looked over my shoulder and all I could see were my eyes reflected on the window, scared and immature. They were shining as a thousand lamps in a dark room, filled with the anticipation of my journey. As the plane took off, my hands tingled with the idea that a new door was opening. I was leaving my old life and entering the gates to a new world of possibilities. The hope of a new beginning outweighed the pain of leaving my home country. From the airplane, I could see the city lights of Madrid, and felt it was illuminating my new life overseas. I held to that hope like a beacon shining in the dark. Although I wasn’t able to understand the moment, looking back, I know it transformed me and pushed me towards the beginning of my new life. And, together with my new life, it came my new me.

I was conflicted leaving behind the life I knew. My family, my friends, and my culture which created the person I was, were not around anymore. Now I was on my own, without a clear idea where I belonged. It was hard for me to function in a new environment, a country I never visited, and a language I didn’t fully speak. Everyday I looked around on my way to school, and found nothing similar to my home. The diversity of the people, the music I heard on the streets, the slang I didn’t understand. The families I met, the school routines, the food I ate, they all were foreign to me. This was the American culture I grew up seeing on the Tv shows but now, this was my reality. “We know what we are, but not what we may be (Hamlet).” The quote by William Shakespeare crossed my mind repeatedly during those first months. I began to wonder what it meant and if it applied to my life in the US. Who am I, I asked myself. Do I belong here? Is this part of me? Looking back at those moments, I came to the conclusion that everyone knows who they think they are, but they don’t discover their true selves until they experience a life changing event.

A couple months after arriving in the United States, I realized I was changing. As a result of my own process to adapt myself to the reality, my personality was transforming and developing. I grew more confidence and as a result, I took on more leadership roles at school, did more public speaking, and performed some theatre in the classroom. I wasn’t that scared immature young kid anymore. I liked the person I was becoming. It struck me that my old personality was fading, one bit at a time. Those changes took place in a very short time and, they were for good. As Shannon L. Alder, a famous author, stated, “life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of that.” Those changes marked the commencement of my new personality and identity.

Many spend their entire lives searching for their true selves, and many die without finding it. I believe I have been fortunate to find who I am by adapting to my new life. I have discovered the capacity that is in me to learn, enjoy and engage with people and events I would never have experienced back in my country. Although my identity is not complete, I feel my world has become richer and wider, and I have become more open and ready to make the most of what life brings. I now can say that Spain is part of my life and will always be,  but Spain did not shape me but predefined myself. By moving to the United States, and opening myself to growing and changing, my identity has blossomed. Only those who challenge their beliefs and conditions, find out who they truly are. I believe I have.


Bibliography:

“A quote by Shannon L. Alder.” Quote by Shannon L. Alder: "Life always begins with one step outside of you...", www.goodreads.com/quotes/736100-life-always-begins-with-one-step-outside-of-your-comfort.

Shakespeare, William, et al. Hamlet. Oxford University Press, 2008.




Advanced Essay #3: What's The Best For You?

Vivian Pham

Mr. Block

English 3

March 9th, 2018


Introduction:


My goals for my paper was to help the audience understand two sides of what goes into self realization and self reflection in the terms of deciding what career or job is best suited for oneself. A person’s future is way too important to not think about or not realize what goes into crafting a life in this toxic society. And I wanted to capture what many people don’t realize about their own thoughts, there are a lot of subconscious thoughts that goes into how our minds work. Some areas of improvement would probably be to decrease the word count of my essay as a whole and work on making sure that all brainstormed ideas are fully incorporated.


Advanced Essay:



Many are completely dumbfounded by how society subconsciously controls their career goals and decisions that they had for themselves. We need to come a realization that there are a lot more at stake when finding a career/job than how much the job pays. Although many fail to realize, everyone has control over their decisions but are continuously classifying whether it’s “acceptable” by society. All attention should be geared towards their mental, physical, and emotional capabilities when deciding what jobs are best suitable to take on.

Once we start to think for ourselves about what’s best for us, we start to comprehend certain factors that makes us happy. We must disregard all judgement provided from others. This doesn’t make us selfish, this makes us mindful, capable, and secure enough to guide ourselves through all career related obstacles.  Observations are being made wherever we go, Ryan Etis had a lesson to be taught to an audience of 400 high school students at an event to teach about careers and manufacturing.

“I watched closely as they settled in, full of potential and possibility. I had been thinking about this 30 minutes for a while. I had a goal. Maybe it was more of a hope or desire. I wanted to be that defining moment for one young person today. To pay it forward. To ignite something inside someone else that becomes the catalyst for change.”

Ryan wanted to make a difference, although he didn’t know any of the students personally, he knew that he wanted everyone to take away from his lesson that they can become a “catalyst for change.” He viewed inspiration as a defining factor in society, given that he found his own inspiration from Jim Rohn, who “...saved me. I had never been exposed to that kind of thinking. I went for the free happy hour, but didn’t anticipate a night that would become a defining moment in my life. I walked out fully committed to begin my life transformation. The learning has never stopped.” In college, Ryan felt uninspired, he found himself realizing things about himself that he seemed to not have control over. He had to take many steps to find his true potential, and to pass on that process onto the younger generation.

Being genuinely happy with a career that not only challenges you to do better is much more satisfying rather than the opposite. As individuals we owe it to ourselves to have our own direction in what we decide for ourselves, and how we associate our happiness and success.

The most common job in this industry belongs in the setting of a restaurant. In many cases, our mental and emotional abilities are challenged the most. Although it might not seem like the most hardest job in the world, it takes certain people to adapt to this type of work. Christina Druen wrote an article discussing the process of her first job and the influences that came from that.

“Working as a waitress has helped me develop life skills that years of schooling never did. In school, presentations scared me, and they still do to this day. However, give me 3 or 4 groups of people to talk to and teach them something, I will eat it up. By working as a waitress, I have learned so much about myself, and about relationships. I have learned that I am amazed by what customers have to say.”  Not only did she learn the physical skills when it came to the specificity of the job like managing money and engaging with leadership skills, she learned how to personally break out of her shell of uncomfortability that she never thought she would overcome.

However, the restaurant job hasn’t given everyone a positive experience, Lucy Murrey writes about her experience, “The restaurant had pretty distinct cliques and a tangible hierarchy associated with them. Most notably were those who had been working at the restaurant for years who resided at the top of the pyramid, crowning themselves above a sea of nomads: the college kids who would pop back in every so often, the high schoolers who were harmlessly picked on, and then the miscellaneous, ever-changing group of people who, from the moment they were hired, had everyone placing bets on how long they’d last.”

She realized immediately that working in a restaurant had its own set of societal distinctions. Expectations were contrived before new workers would come in, she described the environment as a “tangible hierarchy.” Depending on the workers’ age or social background, the whole purpose of this business was that their positions weren’t permanent. She talked about how people would place bets on each other to see how long they’ll “last,” already assuming that they can’t handle it. But yet, others still continue to work in such manners, not taking into account that this is harmful to their emotional being.

A vast majority of adolescent teens starts off their years diving into the world of business. They are oblivious to how the world works, it’s common for them to automatically gravitate towards pursuing a career that they notice family members take on. That shouldn’t be the only purpose to decide a career, Cheri McBride discusses her experience with her family business,

Cheri McBride, now 65, was just a kid in 1951 when her parents opened up a jewelry store called Nowlin Jewelry in Lake Jackson, Texas, a Dow Chemical factory town that sprung up in the 1940s. As she grew up, she saw how hard her parents worked—staying up late or spending weekends doing paperwork—to make it a success. That was why, when it came time to go to college, McBride, who goes by the nickname "Duckie," couldn't wait to get out of town. "I wanted to be the world's greatest artist," she says. "And I honestly think my parents hoped I would find a job with nice benefits."

Success in her eyes rose from how she saw her parents work at a young age. She observed how hard they would work and the amount of time they would spend throughout time. After college, she had a goal based off of her parents’ work ethic, her desire to be “the world’s greatest artist.” She soon found herself not reaching that goal and began to take over her family’s business, but “the third generation of the Nowlin family told their parents they didn't have any interest in taking over the business. That's why four years ago, McBride and her brother decided to sell off their entire inventory and close the business down after 50 years of operations.” It seemed easier said than done when it came to taking over her family business, but she knew that this business couldn’t continue simply because she wasn’t passionate about it.

Once again, Christina speaks about her influences growing up in regards to important people in her life, “I was 15 when I started. I had just started high school. I didn’t know who I was yet. Although I’ve always had a good head on my shoulders, I was still influenced by others that were older than me. I wanted nothing more than to be friends with all of them. Because I was the baby of the crew, they all took care of me. They were there with me through all my successes in high school and even now in college.”

She felt that she had this obligation to stick to this job because of the people that supported her every step of the way. This shows that certain working environments provides teenagers of this generation an invitation to following in the footsteps of others, simply because of their age and their experiences. Living off of someone else’s lifestyle is something that people tend to do, without realizing, it can definitely cause major restrictions on their lives.

There are so many constraints on life itself when it comes to expectations that we have to live up to. From family members, close inspirations, and societal impacts we have control over anything involving our self decisions and self discoveries.  It takes courage to admit to themselves that a huge part of their lives are under the control factors aside from their own. We all need to dig beneath the surface instead of scratching it. This establishment of happiness is something we all need to take into account. Everything is a learning experience whether it be a positive or negative one, taking away something from a job experience into the course of life. Success should be something that others work towards and aim for for themselves, and taking all steps necessary to help them achieve their full potential.


Bibliography:


Dahl, Darren. “Succession Stories: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Inc.com, Inc., www.inc.com/articles/201103/succession-stories-keeping-the-business-in-the-family.html

“How My First Job Changed Me.” The Odyssey Online, 28 Aug. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/how-my-first-job-changed-me

“3 Defining Moments That Shaped My Life.” Ryan Estis, 2 Nov. 2015, www.ryanestis.com/leadership/3-defining-moments-that-shaped-my-life

Lupu, Ioana. “Your Feelings About Work-Life Balance Are Shaped by What You Saw Your Parents Do.” Harvard Business Review, 30 Oct. 2017, www.hbr.org/2017/10/your-feelings-about-work-life-balance-are-shaped-by-what-you-saw-your-parents-do

Dilution of Feminism

Intro:
This essay is about the dilution of feminism due to an influx in members and a lack of set rules to dictate the direction and message behind the cause. I think that I did a good job in this essay of getting my point across without being repetative (even though my essay is long, I just had a lot to say!) and I'm really proud of that because I was working hard to make that happen this time around. My goal for next time is to do an even better job of being concise.

Essay:

Opposition is a driving force to many empowerment movements. What is there to fight against if everyone is on your side? That very idea has become a downfall for the modern feminist movement. Today, more and more people are calling themselves feminists. This is the result of equality being pushed to the forefront of society and feminism being sold and marketed as “trendy”. Either way, feminism has begun to lose some of the “toxic” buzz that used to surround it, and has gained followers in the process, but this hasn’t turned out to be as good as it may seem. Feminism has no strict definition. That means that if you believe in female empowerment, or income equality, or reproductive rights, or trans rights, or sexual assault awareness, or any other form of liberation for women, you can call yourself a feminist. The word is open and fully customizable, an appeal and weakness of the cause. People whose views would not have identified them as feminist 10 years ago are now claiming to be, which alters the meaning of the word. Those strongly opposed to feminism are becoming less common, and more common are the conservative feminists who are shifting the movement from the inside. With more and more people claiming to be feminists while lacking a uniform message or goal, the strength and meaning of the word is diluted.

Feminism first began as an in-your-face stick-it-to-the-man empowerment movement, often associated with radical suffragettes, hairy armpits, burning bras, and furious campaigning. These women, over the course of 3 waves of feminism and many decades, set a precedent for the rest of society and aimed to change the standards of gender rights through laws, cultural shifts, and increased opportunities. A timid society built to protect the patriarchy was quick to push these bold fighters into a category of radicals that were not to be associated with, even by women who benefitted from the feminists’ efforts. Titling yourself a feminist had substance, and was worn with pride by those who dedicated their lives to earning it. Today, feminist culture has shifted. Corporations and brands have begun to use feminism as a selling point and a way to gain “cultural clout”. Jia Tolentino from The New Yorker says that “The inside threat to feminism in 2017 is less a disavowal of radical ideas than an empty co-option of radical appearances—a superficial, market-based alignment that is more likely to make a woman feel good and righteous than lead her to the political action that feminism is meant to spur.” Being seen as “woke” is of the utmost importance to the online-activist types of our time, and phrases such as “the future is female” and “girls just want to have fun-damental rights” are easily marketed to that crowd that craves validation. These campaigns, while true and empowering, focus less on tackling the modern problems facing women and more on making those who buy into them feel included in the solution without having to prove it. Tolentino sums all of this up by saying, “the decline of feminism is visible in how easy the label is to claim.” Buying into the feminist brand without having to earn it is creating a generation of activists with very little stake in the cause, and this opens the door for a wide range of feminists to walk into and change the conversation.

As feminism becomes more commercial and the number of feminists rises, so do the number of viewpoints. With no set book of laws to filter them out, no idea can be easily labeled as “wrong”. This has lead to people, who would once have been seen as directly opposed to feminism, strategically joining the movement and stating their views from the inside, which Claire Fallon of the Huffington Post argues, is more dangerous that blatant anti-feminism: “Feminism has grown too mainstream, too broadly accepted, and even expected, for vociferous anti-feminists to be taken seriously in any debate about women’s rights, even if they are women. More useful to the opposition are women like Roiphe, feminists in name only.” The “Roiphe” she speaks of is a women who labels herself a feminist but stands for things that seemingly undermine the movement entirely. She can say whatever she likes, even things that would previously have never been called feminist, and keep her title, all because there are no rules that can say her views go against the movement. If she claims she is a feminist, she is a feminist, and no one has the power to take that away from her or force her to prove it. This blind acceptance is allowing previously opposed viewpoints and uninvested members to be welcomed into the circle of feminism, thus adding those views to the never ending list of the feminist agenda, and effectively changing what the movement stands for just by being a part of it. All of this raises the question: is bigger always better, and if so, can and should it be controlled?

The answer seems simple; everyone should consider themselves feminists and support the greater good for all people, but nothing is truly that simple. Female empowerment author, Jessica Crispin as quoted in Tolentino’s article, points out that, “Somewhere along the way toward female liberation, it was decided that the most effective method was for feminism to become universal, [And the people who decided this] forgot that for something to be universally accepted, it must become as banal, as non-threatening and ineffective as possible.” That means that in order for feminism to become a norm, it has to fit everyone else's needs and be watered down along the way. Well, if feminism can not be for everyone all at once, who gets to decide who the feminists are and whose views to follow? Again, there is no easy answer. There is much debate over the non-binding guidelines of feminism. Some think the leaderless movement should, similarly, remain lawless, and that censorship of any kind aids in the oppression of female thought, (Crockett). Others believe that allowing too many views under the umbrella of feminism surrenders the message to counterproductive change, and that “without some boundaries for claiming the word feminist, it becomes meaningless” (Valenti).

It is hard to say which side reigns true or what form the movement will take. Some supporters are turning the title into a platform for their pro-establishment agendas while others are bashing victims for coming forward with sexual assault claims. Limitless followers stand ready to use feminism as a convenient defense and flaunt it for their benefit. Millions are turning out for marches when they gain attention, but there is seemingly no energy to fuel the fight against less publicized hurdles. Still, none of this is technically un-feminist. As of now, the movement refuses to damper anyone who claims the name but will eagerly scorn the shrinking number of people without it who stand in their way. Will a day come where every person on earth is a feminist, but equality still does not exist for all? If feminism fights those who oppose and endanger the movement, will there come a time where they must attack themselves in order to stay alive?



Bibliography


Valenti, Jessica. “When everyone is a feminist, is anyone? | Jessica Valenti.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Nov. 2014, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/24/when-everyone-is-a-feminist.

Crockett, Emily. “Can you be a "pro-Life feminist"? The Women's March on Washington offered some insights.” Vox, Vox, 22 Jan. 2017, www.vox.com/identities/2017/1/22/14335292/womens-march-washington-abortion-pro-life-feminists.

Fallon, Claire. “The Fake Feminism Of The #MeToo Backlash.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Jan. 2018, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/metoo-backlash-feminism_us_5a621cf7e4b01d91b2552f26.

Fallon, Claire. “The Fake Feminism Of The #MeToo Backlash.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Jan. 2018, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/metoo-backlash-feminism_us_5a621cf7e4b01d91b2552f26.

Tolentino, Jia. “The Case Against Contemporary Feminism.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-case-against-contemporary-feminism.


Anchor Doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fZUTVP0gN-0XAVK6zEyepLg6lVWTg_ms_R0QMOCHS5k/edit


Advanced Essay #3: Hidden Identity

Intro

This is an essay I am proud of. For this paper, my biggest goal was to make sure I understood the project and developed something I knew was quality. There have been instances where I have written a piece, but realized later that I didn’t follow the directions at all and had to start over. An area for improvement though was the amount of editing I did, and how I didn’t end up changing a lot from my rough draft to final.


Essay

Each person has a hidden identity. No one is a completely open book; everyone will have their secrets. You see a lot of examples of hidden identity on social media, but you don’t notice it for what it is. If you look at somebody's facebook feed or Instagram page, you’ll see that they will only share what they want others to see. Everybody with a social media account wants to craft an identity for themselves online. However, it isn’t an accurate representation of who they are. Think about it. How would you feel if there was an accurate representation of your emotions and activities on the internet for all your friends to see? Would you want people to see the depths of your personal life online? People will only post about things in their life that they would want everybody else to see as well. Social media isn’t even just about sharing your life, it’s about bragging about it and crafting an ideal persona online.


Social media also changes the genuine expression of emotion from people. While Facebook is a place where people vent about their siblings and show their video game high scores, they also will tell all of their Facebook friends that somebody close to them passed. In my personal experience, I feel a certain level of guilt if I see a status update like that and I don’t like or comment. However, this does not feel genuine to me at all. If somebody close to me lost a loved one, I would make sure I am showing support in person, and not through a Facebook comment. I read a Time Magazine article on mourning on facebook. It introduced the idea of if Facebook is the right place for important issues such as loss, depression, death, etc. A quote from the article read,“There’s no ‘right’ way to mourn, but I question whether Facebook — which seems more and more like a junkyard of complaints and raw emotions — does justice to our feelings about meaningful things like death if we discuss them on the same platform as complaints about our cable company.” This quote raises a really good question on the topic of worth. Can somebody’s death really be dumbed down to a social media post? Death is a massive topic, that cannot be just summed up with a speech, a funeral, a gravestone, and especially not an Instagram post. If a funeral doesn’t give justice to somebody’s death, then how can a post on social media?


There was a relatively well known local musician named Brian Nowell, who recently passed because of a drug overdose. It was a very sad event, and I did see and feel the effect of it on people around me. But not in person, it was all expressed on Facebook or Instagram. I never actually heard anybody who involved themselves in sharing or posting about his death, speak about it in person. It was uncanny, to get texts, facebook messages, and more about this tragedy, which made it seem very sad. However, without anybody actually talking about it, made it seem very fake. This is because, without a real connection to the person, a person doesn’t feel as much remorse as somebody close to the tragedy. Somebody can feel sympathy, but won’t feel the same way as somebody who was close to Brian. Just from my perspective, it felt like many different people were putting this persona of themselves on social media to make the tragedy about themselves, and to show that they care, and not to actually show support to the ones truly hurt. Sharing and posting about a tragedy like this can help craft this ideal online persona, one that is not only busy, smart, and having fun, but is also caring and supportive.


People end up crafting different identities because they want to create a persona they find ideal for the public. There are different reasons for this, whether it’s to feel more important, seem caring and supportive, seem popular, and much more. People use different ways to craft ideal identities for the public. This can be done with social media, by sharing things that will make you seem like somebody more interesting or popular. People will also often utilize their hidden identities to seek attention, sympathy, or approval. This isn't something that can really be addressed, but it is an issue. Considering how important people's social lives have become to them, an online persona can influence your personality greatly, and change you for better or worse.


Bibliography


Zneimer, Lia. “Social Media: How to Mourn on Facebook After Someone Dies.” Time, Time, 6 May 2014, time.com/47252/mourning-social-media/.


Culture As In Identity As In The Self

Introduction
In my essay, I discuss how culture and identity are tied in a symbiotic relationship, when both organisms rely on each other in a type of partnership. Culture needs identity just as much as identity is helped formed by culture. However, it can be impacted negatively by cultural appropriation. 

Advanced Essay

Lilly Roman

Mr. Block

English 3

9 March 2018


“Culture, as defined by the Webster’s dictionary (2007), is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. It is also the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious or social group.”

From birth, culture has a major role in shaping our identity. We see this throughout our whole lives: a subconscious desire to live inside our groups, define ourselves through them, and even belong to them. People are not born with culture, rather than they are raised into it, for there is no better way to fulfil the need of validity than to be unified as a single group justified through belief. We want to feel as if we are a part of something, because with culture comes presence. It tells the individual that they are supported in what they are doing or how they think. We created culture for this sole purpose, just like race, gender, class, and any other social divider. 
This is called Cultural Identity Theory, an umbrella term for a large mechanism with very small gears. Myron Lustig, professor and author of several cultural studies, notes that cultural identities “are central, dynamic, and multifaceted components of one’s self concept” (Lustig, 133). In places like the U.S., where the people are more ethnically diverse from state to state, culture is mostly based on common values, traditions, or heritage. Yet some cultures are considered “unequal” to others. In reality, it is not the cultural identity that is put down, it is in fact the presence of it. That this means is that an identity is not worth oppressing unless it is meaningful. No one cares about who you are until it is a threat to their own power. Unity is powerful and that is what makes culture a danger to some. An example of this control is cultural appropriation, in which “members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by said dominant group” as put by journalist Maisha Z. Johnson. We see this within several minority groups such as African- Americans, Native Americans, and even Asian- Americans who all have a history of assimilation or oppression under a dominant race, Caucasian Americans. 
This commonly occurs and can be seen at festivals such as Coachella, the Runway, or even your local mall selling cheap “tribal print” clothing. Currently, one of the largest battles has occurred over black hairstyles such as afros, dreads, braids, and even headwraps being portrayed by white models in the media. Defenders of this will bring up women of color straightening their hair, yet they forget pressure of assimilation ("adopting elements of the dominant culture in order to survive conditions that make life more of a struggle if they don’t", another quote by M.Z. Johnson) and how natural hair styles have been and still are considered unkept and even dirty when worn by women of color. During slavery, master and lawmakers alike used headwarps as a term of enslavement and forced black women to cover up their hair. Later, it would also evolve into the stereotype of the "Black Mammy" servant. It wasn’t until much later that African American women would  use it as a symbol of pride and courage, creating elaborate and colorful headwraps in defiance. To their descendants, it has served as a badge of their cultural identity and an "absolute resistance to the loss of self-definition", states Helen Griebel from Cornell University. To see the appropriation of these articles on the runway is a direct attack to the identity. It tells other cultures and people of said cultures that they are nothing until the dominant culture says they are, robbing the original for the credit they deserve. 
Americans who grow up in diverse communities may pick up the dialect, customs, and traditions of the cultural groups that surround them. Philadelphia as a “melting pot” city is a great example of this. From Chinatown, to South Street, to Mt. Airy, there are vastly different cultures associated with each are, yet they all roll into one big culture as Philadelphians. We can acknowledge that cultural exchange is not the same as cultural appropriation as people mutually share with each other. Systems like that usually bloom into something beautiful in the same way that blue and red make purple. What makes this different is that cultural exchange doesn’t have a systemic power dynamic. One identity is not overtaking another and therefore the presence of both identities are equal. 
It is important to the individual to have presence and to have their own unique presence. No one wants to feel alone, just as much as nobody should feel like a direct copy of another. For this reason, no culture is ever exactly the same twenty, ten, five years into the future. It is constantly evolving with the individual identities it is made out of in a mutualistic agreement with all of them. Culture and identity is not an either or scenario. Culture feeds the identity, just as much as identity feeds the culture. 

Citations

Griebel, Helen Bradley . “The African American Woman's Headwrap: Unwinding the Symbols.” The African American Woman's Headwrap: Unwinding the Symbols, char.txa.cornell.edu/griebel.htm.
Johnson, Maisha Z. “What's Wrong with Cultural Appropriation?” Everyday Feminism, 26 Oct. 2017, everydayfeminism.com/2015/06/cultural-appropriation-wrong/.
“An Open Letter to Non-Natives in Headdresses.” âpihtawikosisân, 4 Aug. 2016, apihtawikosisan.com/hall-of-shame/an-open-letter-to-non-natives-in-headdresses/.
Myron Lustig. Intercultural competence. Language Arts & Disciplines, 1993.
“Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-Trusted online dictionary.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/.

Advanced Essay #3: Christina Santana

​Introduction: 
My goal for this paper was to  focus on the topic of names and their importance in our society. I wanted to capture what effect they can have on people as well as the impact that they can have on a larger scale. I could have improved my paper by adding a scene of memory, but I am pleased with my overall product. I think that I did a wonder job at integrating outside sources into my work, and I feel that I provided strong, supporting analysis for them. 

Essay: 

Christina Santana

Mr. Block

English - E band

09 March 2018

What’s In A Name?

People mold their identity around the name they were given. They go through their lives unknowingly trying to sever themselves from the preconceived image that their name holds. This is due to the fact that society has an unconscious bias on names that causes them to develop an immediate opinion of people solely based off on that aspect. Different names are held to different standards. They’re viewed in various ways, most of which are based off of an individual's personal preferences and surroundings. For example, people with a subdued and introverted personality may prefer traditional names. Whereas, people who have an exuberant and extroverted personality may prefer out of the box names. Names can also be viewed as a way of personifying some else's mannerisms. An example being how someone could say “you’re acting like a Brittany”, a name that is typically used to reference a stereotypical privileged girl. In this situation, the person in questions knows that by using the name Brittany, they are automatically implying that the person they’re speaking to is replicating the personality traits associated with the name. This is case for all names in our society. A primary example of the blatant categorization that our minds are accustomed to configuring.  

Names in our society change as the social climate changes. The popularity of a name is dependent on prominent figures in our society, and the perception of certain names fluctuate as time goes on. A notable example of this is celebrities. Celebrities in the media today have a big affect on what names people find appealing. From names like North West to Stormi Webster, the diverse list of unique celebrity baby names is longer than a New York skyscraper. With that being said, our society immediately develops an opinion on the names. Primarily because they were created by people who have an immense influence on large audiences. While the notoriety of these names may seem like a huge asset to celebrites, it leaves their children out to open for unwanted judgement from others. It leaves the as vulnerable as lambs placed in a lion’s den.

The importance of names varies in different committees and environments. In some cases, there are different categorizations for names as a whole. In the Transgender community, a dead name is known as the name a transgender has person has prior to their transition. In most cases, trans people choose a new name as a way to embrace the identity of who they always knew they were. This new name then acts as a way to marks the "death" of their old identity. Then dead names are used, they act as a blatant sign of disrespect towards the person in question. There is a specific name for this demeaning tactic, known as dead naming. Dead naming, as Google states is "the practice of uttering or publishing the name that a trans person used prior to transition. ”A perfect example of this comes from an article posted on Popsugar. In this article, they discuss an Amazon Prime show called Transparent, and more specifically how the main characters transition from male to female has affected their life. They say, “In many small ways, her family shows resistance in accepting Maura's true presentation of self. It may be by using her old name or by recounting pretransition memories. Even the term "Moppa" — an amalgamation of "Momma" and "Poppa" that her kids adopt in the wake of her coming out — refuses to acknowledge that Maura wishes to be seen completely as a woman.” This concise excerpt is just one of many examples that show how crucial selecting of new name is during the transition process, and it greatly displays the emphasis of names in our society. Specifically in sense of how people mold their identities around their names and use it as their rock during hard times.

Names are a huge part of people’s identity, and they act as the base of a much larger picture. According to Behindthename.com, “The bestowal of name and identity is a kind of symbolic contract between the society and the individual. By giving a name the society confirms the individual's existence and acknowledges its responsibilities toward that person.” This quote simply corroborates the fact that through names, individuals become part of society. As people begin to flourish and make names for themselves, society's view of said names continue to change. The perception remains to be held in the eye of the beholder.

Words define our reality, and names define our identity. People either live their lives trying to conform to the standard of their name or they make it their mission to break themselves from that mold. Regardless of the path taken, names are a universal sign of recognition. A golden ticket used to represent an idivusal’s integration into society. It’s importance is often overlooked, but the reality is that names set the stand for the rest of our lives. That said, it is our job to make our names our own.





Works Cited


Campbell, Mike. “Names and Personal Identity.” Behind the Name - the etymology and history of first names, www.behindthename.com/articles/3.

Roschke, Ryan. “What It Means to "Dead-Name" a Transgender Person, and Why You Should Stop.” POPSUGAR News, 8 Mar. 2018, www.popsugar.com/news/What-Dead-Naming-Transgender-Person-43923268.

Advanced Essay #3 : Culture Vultures

Introduction


The goal of my paper was to analyze the streetwear culture and social media’s influence on its growth. I wanted to understand and attempt to explain both sides of the argument of culture vultures, and I believe I did a good job in my attempt. I believe I did a good job in establishing the relationship between social media and streetwear and analyzing the argument of those who criticize culture vultures. One area I do think I could’ve improved in was my overall argument. I feel as if I repeat my argument one too many times in certain areas and that is in part due to my lack of word variation.


Advanced Essay


Social media has created a virtual global village that connects people from all over the world. An influencer in London no longer only has influence in London, but has influence from places like Zhuhai, China to Jonesboro, Arkansas. This global reach has given power to the influencer and has accelerated the rise of trends. Trends can blow up in a matter of minutes on the internet. One of the booming trends today is the rise of streetwear and brands like Supreme. However, unlike your favorite 6 second vines or meme, it is a trend that hasn’t gone away. As the streetwear culture is just starting to hit the mainstream market, there has been backlash from those who believe the culture is losing its authenticity. Those who consider them “original” streetwear enthusiasts have criticized adopters of the brand, however, Supreme’s rise is due to social media and the natural growth of clothing brands.


Supreme started as this exclusive club meant for only the most authentic and raw of skaters and artists in the New York Area. As Alex Williams from the New York Times stated, “For much of its 18-year existence, Supreme was confined to the in-crowd, a scruffy clubhouse for a select crew of blunt-puffing skate urchins, graffiti artists, underground filmmakers and rappers.” The store represented the culture of its city and thrived in this space. If you walked into the store and didn’t pass the “authenticity check,” you were looked down upon(New York Times). This was true for most underground brands such as Palace and Thrasher. Brands like Supreme established this ethos that they are anti-culture and different from the norm, however, one could argue that they are the new norm. As streetwear has gone mainstream, its ethos has lost some of its grunginess.


Social media has undeniably provided a platform for individuals to create careers and cultivate huge followings. Anyone who denies this can be pointed to Kim Kardashian’s Instagram. As of March 16, 2017, brands have to pay up to $500,000 for an Instagram post to her 94.8 million Instagram followers (Talia Ergas). On a smaller scale, social media has established a pipeline for the growth of streetwear. Leo Mandela, most notoriously known on Instagram as Gully Guy Leo, is one specific individual who used social media to his advantage. Leo Mandela grew up in Warwickshire where the most streetwear thing to do was wear skinny jeans. Due to the lack of inspiration in his community, he turned to social media where he found inspiration from individuals like Jaden Smith, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber. Once he reached around the age of 13, Leo Mandela started finding the money to purchase clothes that were considered “hype.” From there he was able to build up a following on Instagram and currently he has over 590,000 Instagram followers. He models for brands such as Converse and and is flown out to fashion events all over the world. He hangs out with major celebrities on a consistent basis, doing all of this at the age of 15. His free to sign up Instagram account has opened doors that wouldn’t otherwise be possible at his age.


Leo Mandela has also been heavily criticized for his following. Dubbed by many as a “culture vulture,” he is viewed as one of the many that are ruining the culture. However, there is an argument to be made that Supreme’s growth as a brand is inevitable, and social media is only speeding up the process. Brands like Nike, Clarks, and Stussy all started off small. They did not have overnight success. It took the consumers to express their enjoyment from the brand to fuel their growth. Social media just makes it easier for the consumer to spread their enjoyment with a certain brand, thus speeding up its growth. Social media’s reach has fused Supreme’s urban sensibility and suburban mainstream, drawing a fine line between those who wear the brand because of its urban authenticity and those who wear it because it is hype.


As our world becomes more and more connected, the popularity of different art/expression/culture/niches will grow too. This is becoming an issue as people are quick to protect a part of their identity and keep it a secret from the masses. All it takes is a couple of minutes to find like minded individuals or to find a niche you are interested in. What were once subcultures are being thrust into the spotlight and there is no longer a boundary for its reach or influence. More and more people are facing the fact that what they consider unique about themselves is quite common when looking at grand scope of things, and it is up to each individual to decide whether it will affect them or not.


Bibliography


Ergas, Talia. “Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian Make Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars for Instagram Ads.” Us Weekly, 16 Mar. 2017, www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/kardashian-sisters-make-how-much-for-instagram-ads-w472080/.

Williams, Alex. “Guerrilla Fashion: The Story of Supreme.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/fashion/guerrilla-fashion-the-story-of-supreme.html.

Davey, Jacob. “How Gully Guy Leo Harnessed Hate to Become the Coolest Kid on Instagram.” Complex, Complex, 1 Feb. 2018, www.complex.com/style/2018/02/gully-guy-leo-converse.


Advanced Essay #3

Introduction:

The goal of this paper was to try and make sense of why working class whites in America have the beliefs and prejudices that they do. I attempted to do this without insulting or vilifying them, though I’m not sure if I succeeded. While I’m overall content with the essay, I find that I repeat myself a little too often and that my analysis is quite long-winded.

Advanced Essay:

Ethan Larrabee

Mr. Block

Advanced Essay

March 9, 2018

The election of Donald Trump has ignited the discussion of a very important question: how did this happen? The answer lies in many places, but one key factor in his victory lies in a previously unexpected region of the United States. Known sometimes as the “silent majority”, America’s rural communities are rarely regarded when considering massive social and political change. This past election, they proved to be a driving force behind Trump’s seemingly out of nowhere victory. Trump, or rather his campaign staff, manipulated these people by exploiting their fear and their inner rage against the “urban elite”.

The best way to manipulate people is through fear and rural, working-class whites have a lot to fear. Their main source of livelihood, mostly low-skill manufacturing jobs, have been on the decline as more and more companies ship their business overseas where labor costs are cheaper. They believe to have been passed over by their government, left with no representation. They’re led to believe that other races of people receive “special treatment” while they’re seemingly forced to fend for themselves. This leads to them creating extremely insulated communities where everyone shares a similar mindset. Without any new ideas coming into the community, they continue the same way they always have, which only serves to worsen their problem. The typical conservative viewpoint tends to come from a place of ignorance. Racism, xenophobia, pro-gun beliefs, anti-abortion beliefs, and so-called “conservative family values” are harder to find in more densely populated urban environments because there is a far greater concentration of people with different beliefs from different backgrounds. This exposure to different ideas makes one more accepting of change and more open to new concepts. In a place where everyone is the same race, has the same worldview, has access to the same limited information, and have all lived there for generations, progressive opinions are hard to find. This creates an echo chamber where misinformation is repeated from source to source until it becomes fact.

That’s not to say that these people are monsters. A part of their fear and hatred stems from wanting what’s best for their communities. People who live in rural areas pride themselves on their resourcefulness, their grit, their status as American citizens, and the strength of their communities. They believe that most problems can be solved with determination and hard work. This leads them to perceiving other oppressed groups as lazy. They don’t understand the effects of systematic oppression because they don’t experience it, at least not obviously, nor do they know anyone who has because minority groups are regularly regarded with contempt and mistrust. These people have been fed misinformation for generations and are so steeped in their own way of life that they fail to see the world from any other viewpoint aside from their own extremely limited perspective.

In a USA Today interview with several Trump supporters, a man named Zach Broullire gives his reasons for supporting such a candidate. “Right now, our immigration system is not working for the American people, and our trade isn’t working for the American people. Really, I support Trump because our government is not necessarily working for the American people and more for their agenda, whatever that may be. I want American first policy; any American citizen, that’s who our immigration policy, our trade policy and every other policy should be working for is American people.” This is how people like Donald Trump get elected. Working-class whites feel ignored by the government and are looking for anyone willing to speak to their beliefs. They are willing to ignore and excuse a great deal of problems because they are desperate for representation. Any politician claiming to have an “America first” policy has an easy time gaining their favor.

Instead of looking for ways to help these people, politicians abuse their predictable responses and generally limited educations to garner support for their campaigns. As Adolf Hitler stated in Mein Kampf, “All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Propaganda must be limited to a few simple themes and these must be represented again and again. Here, as in innumerable other cases, perseverance is the first and most important condition of success.” One can observe these tactics used time and time again. By utilizing a limited vocabulary and catchy phrases like “America first” and “drain the swamp”, propaganda appeals to these people’s identities as Americans and gives them a clear and simple goal to fight for.

It is important to remember that these are still people. They may say horrible things, they may commit horrible acts, and sometimes it’s impossible to forgive them, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope for change. If the root of the problem here is caused by ignorance and the manipulation of said ignorance, than the education of these people is of utmost importance. If we ignore the white working class, they will only withdraw further into their isolation, and the situation will only get worse.


Works Cited

Capehart, Jonathan. “Opinion | Working-Class whites can't handle their status as 'the new minority'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Apr. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/04/20/working-class-whites-cant-handle-their-status-as-the-new-minority/?utm_term=.b8e5c6c1f1d6.

Glasser, Susan B. and Thrush, Glenn, et al. “What's Going on With America's White People?” POLITICO Magazine, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/problems-white-people-america-society-class-race-214227.

“Trump Nation.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-nation/#/?_k=4y2pq5.

Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.