Reflection Essay

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
1. Explain one or two ways my writing has improved (or not). Include a few examples from my posts over time, with analysis and links to the original posts, to illustrate how the improvement(s) happened.
9. Has blogging had any other effects on my life beyond strictly my "school life"? Explain.
7.  What have I learned from my struggles with writer's block? Why do I tend to get stuck? How do I tend to get unstuck? Notice any patterns?



    First off, I would like to say how much I love my blog. I do not want to let it go, but if Mr. Sutherland does not stay than I can not blog. I just wish the new teacher(if there is one) will let us use our blogs again. I probably will not find the time to blog and forget about it all, but I still will miss it completely. However, one thing I will not forget is how fun it was writing “randomly”.My favorite part of doing this blog were the quick writes. In the quick writes, I wrote about my thoughts on Justin Bieber to reasons why someone should buy an Ipad. I also wrote about society issues like racism and how facebook affects everyone. In this reflection, I will be talking about how my improved writing in my blogs has changed me in many different ways.
This blog really showed how much my writing improved blog by blog. I remember starting off this blog, with a bad state of mind. I thought the whole idea of a blog was stupid, so I completely plagiarized everything. I plagiarized on a quick write explaining the story behind a video game. I started off saying,
This is the story of Halo1: Combat Evolved.  This is an Xbox video game that I love...
then I went on copying word per word off of wikipedia. After a couple of weeks of doing this blog I felt so stupid and decided to delete it completely. Then, I went on to other blog posts talking about things that interested me and I began to like having a blog. I remember doing a blog post about facebook, and I had a really great time doing it.  
My improvements in this was that I added a lot of depth and reason in this posts. I actually thought about this posts hard and went on doing a lot of research. I think I did good, listing suggestions on how we can avoid facebook. Comparing my facebook post to my Halo post, there are major differences. I also noticed that I had better grammar in my Facebook posts, and that is a major improvement for me. In the Halo post, I just plagiarized a story and there was really not much thinking. It was like a really short video game summary. As I look further into my posts, I noticed a changed in my blogs. They seemed to get longer and more interesting. I think that at one point I wanted to add some humor into my blogs, and I did this in a posts about abbreviations. I did this because I felt that my readers were not interested, so I wanted to grab them in by integrating something that will make them laugh. 
I dont think that this posts is the best but at least it captures the reader’s attention, and that, is also a major improvement.I also talked about things that affect society like my experiences with social things such as racism. 
This is what I put in my blog post because I am so tired of listen to all the crap at school or on the streets. In my other blog, I also talked about global warming. Our science teacher talked about how global warming is killing us humans and we are the ones that caused that. I was so scared and I gotten so alert that  I felt that I should tell the  world about it.  
 Overall, I incorporated a lot of things that are not really academic to my blog posts to make it fun to read.
    My Friday’s have been changed because of blogger. I have been sleeping a little later than I expected. Usually, I sleep really early on Friday because I want to make up for the hours I missed on the school days . I am not saying that this is bad, because writing is really fun too. I can say that writing blog posts has helped me grow in other classes too. For instance, in corbally’s class my essays have improved greatly. I used to get C’s and D’s in her class but now I am getting some B’s. That has been the change that affected my school life. Outside of my school life, I have been telling everyone about blogger. I been telling everyone that they can read my blog because I talk about things besides academics.
Writing so much has not gotten me completely away from writer’s block. I still get stuck every once in a while, especially when I am distracted or when I am not an expert in the topic. I think for every three posts, I get stuck on at least one. To not get stuck, I start by thinking of a topic that I am completely familiar in. This way, I do not get stuck at all, but this does not always work. I think I get stuck sometimes because I forget what I am writing about or what I am going to write about. I may go use the bathroom and come back and totally forget what I was writing about. I can get pass this by making a plan or an outline before every blog posts. This way, I will know exactly what I am going to say before I even start typing. I have not tried this plan but I can guarantee it will work.
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FINAL DRAFT OF HOLES

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

This is my final draft, and I accidentally editted over my old draft, so now my old draft is gone.
8.  Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.   
       In the book Holes, by Louis Sachar, it talks about as boy name Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to Camp Green Lake because he was blamed for stealing shoes. Camp Green Lake is in the middle of a desert and is a  juvenile camp for teenagers who have to dig holes. Stanley meets other boys in the camp and he is forced to dig a 5 foot hole everyday. In the middle of the story, Stanley finds out that the teenagers and him are not digging holes for character but they are searching for something.  The campers that he meets at camp are very different and they each have unique personalities and characteristics. The characters are X-Ray, Squid, Magnet, Armpit, Zero, and Stanley.
      A character in this book that really interests me is Zero. Stanley and Zero’s relationship differs from time to time. In the beginning, the relationship was less than friends. However, at the end, they are best friends that care for each other and help each other out. Zero's real name is not Zero, but Hector. He was named Zero by his cabin mates, and has been called that all his life. He is named this because he knows nothing. To his cabin mates, Zero is a nobody. But you can't blame a homeless orphan living on the streets to know how to read and write. In the book, it saids that Zero was left at a store by his mom one day and his mom never came back.  
      However, Zero may have gone through a lot of adversity, but he still is very smart and would stand up for himself anytime. In the beginning, he is portrayed as a small lonely kid who never talks and has a scowl on his face. In the middle, he meets Stanley and he starts talking again.  Stanley figures out that he does not talk because he hates answering questions. Zero feels too ashamed to answer questions because other people will always mock and tease him. 
      One day, Zero can not stand Camp Green Lake so he runs away. However, he also says that he likes digging holes, and would dig half of Stanley's hole to get english and math lessons from Stanley. Stanley eventually figures out that he is really good in learning math, because of his speed. However, english seems to be a little harder for him. When Zero runs away, Stanley follows behind and finds Zero in a boat eating 100 years old peach juice. Zero is shown here that he is super giving because he gives the rest of his peaches drink to Stanley. 
       In the end, Zero begins to talk more to Stanley. Zero seems to trust Stanley a lot so he opens up for him. Zero shows his honest side and admits that he was the one who stole the shoes that Stanley got blamed for stealing. 
"If Zero had just kept those shoes, then neither of them would be here right now."
That was the reason why Stanley was in Camp Green Lake.   
         Another character that really interests me is X-Ray. X-Ray is another juvenile at Green Lake Camp. He is the leader of his tent and he likes to boss everyone around.  Everyone listens to what X-Ray has to say, even though he is the smallest and is black. This surprises Stanley because he grew up in a racist community and wonders why no one fights against him for power.
"X-Ray was always at the front of the line. Then came Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, Magnet, and Zero. Stanley got behind Zero." pg 50
During water break time, X-Ray has to make sure that everyone is in the correct order. He puts himself in front of everyone and Stanley last after Zero.  X- Ray leads tent D, even though Mr. Pendanski is the real head of the tent. X-Ray is also the name giver for most people; he names Stanley, Caveman, and everyone starts calling him that from then on.
        The Warden wants kids to dig holes, because she is looking for something valuable. X-Ray can barely see without his glasses, so he can not find anything valuable in his holes. He tells Stanley to give him whatever he finds, so X-Ray can take the day off. Stanley only agrees because he wants X-Ray to like him. X-Ray has his ways of staying at the head because he has many friends. Therefore, Stanley uses this and does nice things for X-Ray. In return, X-Ray stands up for Stanley whenever he gets picked on.
"Be cool, " said X-Ray. He put his hand on Stanley's shoulder. "You don't want to mess with the cave man," he warned. "The Caveman's cool," said Armpit. pg 44
     However, one day Stanley becomes friends with Zero, and X-Ray does not like that. Sometimes, X-Ray is jealous of Stanley, because X-Ray wants more attention to him than to Stanley. X-Ray has no way of controlling this. In the end, I predict that X-Ray will stop helping Stanley, and the whole group will like Stanley more than X-Ray, and turn their back against him. In this novel there are barely any racism in it. The author states that everyone looks the same color after they have dug their hole. Digging holes makes all the campers equal and it is supposed to build character. The group is very diverse too with two Africans, two Latinos, and two Caucasians.
    In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book because I was expecting a very childish story. However, I was blown backed by the amount of interest I have about this book as I continued reading. I could not put the book down , and I think I caught "holes" fever. Overall, this book is amazing, and I chose this question in particularly because I really liked how the author incorporated a different personality for each character. On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the best book ever and 1 being horrible, I think this deserved a 10.     
      
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Final Book Review for "Holes"

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

This is my final draft, and I accidentally editted over my old draft, so now my old draft is gone.
8.  Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.   
       In the book Holes, by Louis Sachar, it talks about as boy name Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to Camp Green Lake because he was blamed for stealing shoes. Camp Green Lake is in the middle of a desert and is a  juvenile camp for teenagers who have to dig holes. Stanley meets other boys in the camp and he is forced to dig a 5 foot hole everyday. In the middle of the story, Stanley finds out that the teenagers and him are not digging holes for character but they are searching for something.  The campers that he meets at camp are very different and they each have unique personalities and characteristics. The characters are X-Ray, Squid, Magnet, Armpit, Zero, and Stanley.
      A character in this book that really interests me is Zero. Stanley and Zero’s relationship differs from time to time. In the beginning, the relationship was less than friends. However, at the end, they are best friends that care for each other and help each other out. Zero's real name is not Zero, but Hector. He was named Zero by his cabin mates, and has been called that all his life. He is named this because he knows nothing. To his cabin mates, Zero is a nobody. But you can't blame a homeless orphan living on the streets to know how to read and write. In the book, it saids that Zero was left at a store by his mom one day and his mom never came back.  
      However, Zero may have gone through a lot of adversity, but he still is very smart and would stand up for himself anytime. In the beginning, he is portrayed as a small lonely kid who never talks and has a scowl on his face. In the middle, he meets Stanley and he starts talking again.  Stanley figures out that he does not talk because he hates answering questions. Zero feels too ashamed to answer questions because other people will always mock and tease him. 
      One day, Zero can not stand Camp Green Lake so he runs away. However, he also says that he likes digging holes, and would dig half of Stanley's hole to get english and math lessons from Stanley. Stanley eventually figures out that he is really good in learning math, because of his speed. However, english seems to be a little harder for him. When Zero runs away, Stanley follows behind and finds Zero in a boat eating 100 years old peach juice. Zero is shown here that he is super giving because he gives the rest of his peaches drink to Stanley. 
       In the end, Zero begins to talk more to Stanley. Zero seems to trust Stanley a lot so he opens up for him. Zero shows his honest side and admits that he was the one who stole the shoes that Stanley got blamed for stealing. 
"If Zero had just kept those shoes, then neither of them would be here right now."
That was the reason why Stanley was in Camp Green Lake.   
         Another character that really interests me is X-Ray. X-Ray is another juvenile at Green Lake Camp. He is the leader of his tent and he likes to boss everyone around.  Everyone listens to what X-Ray has to say, even though he is the smallest and is black. This surprises Stanley because he grew up in a racist community and wonders why no one fights against him for power.
"X-Ray was always at the front of the line. Then came Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, Magnet, and Zero. Stanley got behind Zero." pg 50
During water break time, X-Ray has to make sure that everyone is in the correct order. He puts himself in front of everyone and Stanley last after Zero.  X- Ray leads tent D, even though Mr. Pendanski is the real head of the tent. X-Ray is also the name giver for most people; he names Stanley, Caveman, and everyone starts calling him that from then on.
        The Warden wants kids to dig holes, because she is looking for something valuable. X-Ray can barely see without his glasses, so he can not find anything valuable in his holes. He tells Stanley to give him whatever he finds, so X-Ray can take the day off. Stanley only agrees because he wants X-Ray to like him. X-Ray has his ways of staying at the head because he has many friends. Therefore, Stanley uses this and does nice things for X-Ray. In return, X-Ray stands up for Stanley whenever he gets picked on.
"Be cool, " said X-Ray. He put his hand on Stanley's shoulder. "You don't want to mess with the cave man," he warned. "The Caveman's cool," said Armpit. pg 44
     However, one day Stanley becomes friends with Zero, and X-Ray does not like that. Sometimes, X-Ray is jealous of Stanley, because X-Ray wants more attention to him than to Stanley. X-Ray has no way of controlling this. In the end, I predict that X-Ray will stop helping Stanley, and the whole group will like Stanley more than X-Ray, and turn their back against him. In this novel there are barely any racism in it. The author states that everyone looks the same color after they have dug their hole. Digging holes makes all the campers equal and it is supposed to build character. The group is very diverse too with two Africans, two Latinos, and two Caucasians.
    In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book because I was expecting a very childish story. However, I was blown backed by the amount of interest I have about this book as I continued reading. I could not put the book down , and I think I caught "holes" fever. Overall, this book is amazing, and I chose this question in particularly because I really liked how the author incorporated a different personality for each character. On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the best book ever and 1 being horrible, I think this deserved a 10.     
     
Comments (4 )

Peer review comments

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
Here are the comments I left for my tablemates' rough drafts...


"Hang Liang"
I think that you should not focus on three questions, but maybe two. I am totally sure you can focus in and talk more about one question. I also suggest you can make a conclusion paragraph if you want. The grammar part is sort of restricting me from understanding what you are trying to say. Also, in the introduction, you can combine most of those sentences.

"Karisa Coleman"
I find that some sentences are seemingly similar and repetitive.I think you should change that, and I think that you should add more cm, because your quotes are very long.I also really like how you can tell the story and answer the questions at the same time.


"Sam Everett"
Maybe to lengthen this draft, which you already have, is to add an introduction with the plot of the story. When I started reading this, I did not know what you were talking about until I read further on into the paragraph. I find that "How did they end up writing this particular book? How is the author's life reflected in the book?" and "What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell? How well was this purpose achieved?" are similar questions, and you could tie them all together.

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Rough Draft of barely a Book Review Part 2

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

8. Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.


     Another character in the book, Holes that really interests me is Zero. Zero's real name is not Zero, but Hector. He was named Zero by his cabin mates, and has been called that all his life. He is named this because he knows nothing. To his cabin mates, Zero is a nobody. But you can't blame a homeless orphan living on the streets to know how to read and write. In the book, it saids that Zero was left at a  store by his mom one day and his mom never came back. 
      However, Zero may have gone through a lot of adversity, but he still is very smart and would stand up for himself anytime. In the beginning, he is portrayed as a small lonely kid who never talks and has a scowl on his face. In the middle, he meets Stanley and he starts talking again.  Stanley figures out that he does not talk because he hates answering questions. Zero feels too ashamed to answer questions because other people will always mock and tease him. 
      One day, Zero can not stand Camp Green Lake so he runs away. However, he also says that he likes digging holes, and would dig half of Stanley's hole to get english and math lessons from Stanley. Stanley eventually figures out that he is a BEAST in learning math, because of his speed. However, english seems to be a little harder for him. When Zero runs away, Stanley follows behind and finds Zero in a boat eating 100 years old peach juice. Zero is shown here that he is super giving because he gives the rest of his peaches drink to Stanley. 
       In the end, Zero begins to talk more to Stanley. Zero seems to trust Stanley a lot so he opens up for him. Zero shows his honest side and admits that he was the one who stole the shoes that Stanley got blamed for stealing. 
"If Zero had just kept those shoes, then neither of them would be here right now."
That was the reason why Stanley was in Camp Green Lake. 






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Rough Draft of barely a Book Review

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
8. Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.
 
        A character in the novel ,Holes, that really interests me is X-Ray. X-Ray is another juvenile at Green Lake Camp. He is the leader of his tent and he likes to boss everyone around.  Everyone listens to what X-Ray has to say, even though he is small and is black.
"X-Ray was always at the front of the line. Then came Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, Magnet, and Zero. Stanley got behind Zero." pg 50
During water break time, X-Ray has to make sure that everyone is in the correct order. He puts himself in front of everyone and Stanley last after Zero. However, this novel has barely any racism in it, because everyone looks the same color after they have dug their hole. X- Ray leads tent D, even though Mr. Pendanski is the real head of the tent. X-Ray is also the name giver for most people; he names Stanley, Caveman, and everyone starts calling him that from then on. 
        The Warden wants kids to dig holes, because she is looking for something valuable. X-Ray can barely see without his glasses, so he can not find anything valuable in his holes. He tells Stanley to give him whatever he finds, so X-Ray can take the day off. Stanley only agrees because he wants X-Ray to like him. X-Ray has his ways of staying at the head because he has many friends. Therefore, Stanley uses this and does nice things for X-Ray. In return, X-Ray stands up for Stanley whenever he gets picked on.
"Be cool, " said X-Ray. He put his hand on Stanley's shoulder. "You don't want to mess with the cave man," he warned. "The Caveman's cool," said Armpit. pg 44
 However, one day Stanley becomes friends with Zero, and X-Ray does not like that. Sometimes, X-Ray is jealous of Stanley, because X-Ray wants more attention to him than to Stanley. X-Ray has no way of controlling this. In the end, I predict that X-Ray will stop helping Stanley. I think the whole group will like Stanley more than X-Ray, and turn their back against him.



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Vignette project reviews

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
     Many people have different personalities and traits. They act and behave differently. However, each person is  special in their unique ways. One day, I believe that "crazy people " will become the new normal, and "normal" people will become the new crazy. I was looking through some vignettes and I found three special people with unlike attributes. These very special people are Vic Xuan, Christ Nghe, and Bany. In their vignettes they describe how they really feel deep down. 
    In Bany's vignette, she shows her energetic side of her. I have never noticed this personality about Bany. She loves to party. 

No, we have fiestias.I love going to them. Wearing my fancy clothes. My pink dress with the little black shoes my mom brought me for my birthday.
Bany also loves to dress in her favorite clothes. I learned from this vignette that it is always good to have time to relax and party. In contrast, Vic takes relaxing to a whole new level.
The fluffy clouds looked like they were moving across the blue ocean sky. The humongous trees rose up from their roots far in the ground. The trees had bright green leaves. 
Vic also surprises me with his love and curiosity for nature. He sits back and looks up at the sky, and that keeps him company. I may one day try the same, and enjoy nature because we won't be on this earth forever to see all the amazing things God has created for us. 
     Christy's personality is somewhat shy but she is starting to change as time goes on and on. 
I want to be social, out there, not shy but confident. I was the black sheep. Looking back on the first day of freshman year made me realize how much I broke out of my shell and comfort zone.
Christy, before, was hiding in her little shell and was afraid of going out to the open world.  Now, she is improving step by step to get out of her comfort zone and to be more social. Overall, everyone has different character, and that is what defines who we really are. Our names are useless without having great attributes.  




(I am not going to go into detail for each person's attributes because I don't know the details, but I will just list them and say their importance) 
 
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Beta reading questions for chapters 8-9

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

1. The dialogue in this story is okay. On some parts, the dialogue went a little too crazy as in boring. I think you are going a little too over the top with this dialogue thing on some parts. I like how it really reflects how a teenager would talk like. Like I said before about it being boring; that is because there was little to no emotions in it. It did not seem so real when reading the dialogue.
2. The folklore seemed a bit irrelevant. It is cool, don't get me wrong, but also a little cheesy. Magical and mythical stuff do not entertain the teenagers. Some might find it interesting, but most of us think it is lame. I also think you should cut back, and make that folklore part shorter.
3. I think Dorthy's reaction was not realistic at all. It was a little weird and like before, not descriptive. An idea that you might want to add in might be Dorthy's feelings towards Adrian's knowledge on folklore. Was she surprised? Stuff like that.
4.  I would say that the cultural elements are sort of forced. Teens do not usually talk about magical stuff anyway, making it seem unrealistic. I think you should change some and add some about the differences between the characters.
5. I personally think that Dorthy should be of another ethnicity who finds Filipino culture interesting. I do know some girls that could relate to her. She is a bit colorless and boring at times, even though I am sure you can add a whole lot more about what she feels like to add more flavor to her.
6. Adrian is alright the way he is. I like how he has a strong knowledge about his background and how he tells his folklore. He is one of the most important charters in the book and therefore should have more feelings.
Ultimately, I would give the story a 6 out of 10. 10 being super awesome and 1 being horrible. Just revise some parts and continue writing. Maybe the rest of the story will improve the whole thing.
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What's next for Esperanza?

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
        "The House on Mango Street", by Cisneros is a book response of her life coming back to Mango Street. All of these vignettes are her stories of what happened in the past. Now, Esperanza has to return back to Mango street for the ones she left behind.   I predict that she will help the other women in her neighborhood do what she did. In the last vignettes, Esperanza meets strangers who have magic powers that can make wishes come true and can see the future. These strangers grant her a wish. Esperanza's wish was her ultimate dream of leaving Mango Street. The stranger's response was...
    When you leave you must remember always to come back, she said."pg 104.
Esperanza promises in a way that she will return back to Mango Street. Even though she is very reluctant of coming back  
"You live right here, 4006 Mango, Alicia says and points to the house I am ashamed of. No, this isn't my house i say... I don't belong."pg 106
Esperanza wants to leave and never come back. She does not feel so welcomed in her own house. In the future, I think she will come back to Mango street, and live by herself privately. She will live without society telling her that boys are the more superior ones.  When she comes back, She wants to live in a different street than Mango street so that she can show her neighbors that she is not trapped in society's expectations. She will influence her peers like this. Everyone will see that she came back free and they will follow her lead and break out of the world's web. 
      In conclusion, Esperanza is going to keep her promise to the strangers even though she is ashamed of her house. However, she will influence her peers and neighbors when she comes back and help them find a way to spring out and undo the world's expectations. She'll be there for all of her friends and teach them how to get out of Mango street and to chase their dreams. We will not know how her rest of her years will be because her future is left for us to choose.
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Cisneros' Perspective

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
       In a short book of vignettes, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros; is about a young girl, Esperanza, who learns about the true society of life between boys and girls. Esperanza was born in a poor ghetto on Mango Street. In her every daily life, she sees and experiences many different issues. Her dream is to leave Mango street, but one day to come back. One of the many different situations she faces everyday is between boys and girls. Gender inequality really plays a major role in her world. The author illustrates that boys and girls should be raised completely differently.  In her vignettes, Cisneros show that boys are to be more free from chores or other daily jobs.  Boys get to go outside and hang out with their friends at anytime. On the contrary, girls are shown as a tool for parents and are given less privileges of freedom. In some of the vignettes, Cisneros feels that girls are more loved and cared for by their parents then boys. In Red Clowns, Esperanza is left vulnerable while Sally leaves her alone with another boy.
"Sally, make them stop. I couldn't make them go away...Please don't make me tell it all." pg 100
Esperanza is not being taken care of here, and we can see why parents should worry more over and restrict girls than boys from freedom in this vignette. 

       In the neighborhood that Esperanza grows up in, women are expected to wait for a hand in marriage then they are allowed to leave the house. They have to take care of the new kids and home that they will get.  In Alicia Who Sees Mice, the importance of having a woman in the household is expressed in this vignette.
“Alicia whose mama died is sorry there’s no one older to rise and make the lunch box tortillas.” pg 31
Since Esperanza is a girl, she has a lot of expectations from her family. She has to inherit a women's duties once there is no one else to help out. Cisneros shows that girls have different jobs and should not be educated because it is useless for them. However, In Alicia Who Sees Mice, she also symbolizes how she does not agree with her father for not letting her get an education. I think that Cisneros thinks that girls are raised to do more than just the everyday petty house chores, but that they are raised to achieve their own dreams.

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My World

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

My World


Table of Contents:
Eyes
Black ops
Otis
Saturday Mornings

Eyes
Everybody has different pairs of eyes in my family. My mom’s eyes are sharp and brown. They are like an eagle’s eye, with keen eyesight but fast and always moving. My mom always catch me do everything with her slick eyes. They dart up and down and side to side, never missing the sight of a single air molecule. My mom’s eyes are one of a kind.
My brother’s eyes are always changing to the different moods and emotions he has. Sometimes you can see him smile with his round brown eyes, and other times you can see him boil with anger.  There is no changing his eyes, only he can change the way his eyes are based on his attitude.
My eyes are unique and special. They are the biggest pair in the family. Sometimes, I can keep a straight gaze at something for a long period of time. However, I can never have eye contact with anyone, because my eyes are super hyper and wants something else to stare at. My eyes also have a playful side in them, especially when they lock on to a stack of cash or a pile of food. I like to watch for anything interesting or search for anything that is fun to stare at with my eyes.

Black Ops
            Let’s do this thang, I yelled. Alrite, my brother replies, Imma get ten kills. Naw, I replied, I can get 16, highest I got was about thirty. What are you going to use? I asked. Famas with extended magazines, my brother replies. That sucks, I yelled, Spas 12 with suppressor all the way. Then the match finally starts.
            Throughout the whole game, my brother and I yell and groan when dying or getting a kill. I look over my shoulder and I see my brother furious jabbing his controller and tilting right and left like he is in a restaurant making food while there is a long line waiting outside. Sometimes after dying, my brother would run to the bathroom and frantically scram back in the living room like there was fire in the house. I, on the other hand, when playing Black Ops, remain calm. I camp throughout most of the game, and only run if I see an open lane. I watch my brother as he takes chances and dives straight for the other team’s flag without looking around to see if there are any enemies. In the middle of the game, I always boast, because of my ranking compared to him. I was always the better Xbox player.
I never really felt so competitive with my brother in anything besides Black Ops or grades. He usually beats me in the category of grades, but I beat him in Xbox. We do things different in this house. Other brothers usually bond by playing sports or doing something lame like that, but not us, we get competitive with our Black Ops game and play to our heart’s content.


Otis
            The air smelled nicer today. The sun shined brighter. The trees looked friendlier, and overall the whole day just felt better than the other days. It was not because there was no school, but because everything just seemed so right today. I wanted to do something today, because I had all afternoon. I wanted to do something I rarely did; something my parents have been nagging me to do for years. It was to go outside and exercise. It did not seem so exciting at first, but who cares, I felt like exercising was meant to happen today.
            I dragged my brother along as always. We brought a basketball and some tennis rackets with some tennis balls to Otis, our elementary school. When we got there, the basketball seemed lazy and flat, so we did not play with it. We played tennis and all of a sudden an epiphany went in my head. I could become a tennis star. When I smacked the ball it went as fast as a nerd trying to finish their homework. My accuracy was dead-on bulls eye, and my strength could send the tennis ball to circle around Earth twice! I was star struck at my skills from my new hobby.
            This completely amazing day became even more amazing when I had that amazing dream of becoming a tennis player. That day could have been the best day of my life, if only my report card was sent to the wrong house. My parents sent me to my room immediately without letting me explain why there was a C in my English grade. That report card was like a bomb, arriving at my house and exploding my dream into little pieces. From then on, I never stepped out of the house to play tennis, because I fear of another bomb arriving and destroying my high hopes of becoming a tennis star.

Saturday Mornings
Only on Saturday mornings, do I wake up early with my brother. Otherwise, I would not get out of my bed until my dad drags me out. Ii was the same for every Saturday morning. I wake up, brush my teeth, wipe my face, eat breakfast, then I would turn on the TV and watch cartoons. The cartoons would last until 12:00 and my whole morning would be over just like that.
My brother and I would fight between which couch to sit on. There are two couches in the living room: a soft black one and a leather brown one. The soft black couch would always get fought over between my brother and me. He would always win, but if I kept trying to take it from him he would just shut the TV off and not let me watch anymore. Some of my favorite shows are Xiaolin Showdown and The Replaceables. These two were the main shows we would be looking for throughout the whole morning.
For every Saturday it would be the same. Today, I miss these Saturday mornings. Ever since, I started attending middle school, Saturday mornings changed. Now it is homework instead of Xiaolin Showdown or fighting with my brother over which couch to sit in.
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The Color Red:House on Mango Street

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

     In The House on Mango Street, the symbol red is very important and it shows up in many different situations. I think red means the social world problems and or situations that affect her. She grows up in a very poor environment, and one of the many things she does not like about her poor life is her house on Mango street.
"It's small and red with tight steps... Bricks are crumbling in places..."pg 4
She completely does not like her house at all. In her dreams, Mama and Papa would look for a house that is real, and that she can stay in forever and not move ever year. The color red in this is a symbol signifying that her life has rough edges that she can not change. Only her environment changes and she has to adapt to it. 
      In one of the most important chapters, Esperanza is being sexually abused. Although the chapter is filled with hidden meanings and is definitely hard to understand, it still gives the reader a central understanding that she is being forced to do what she does not want to do. In Red Clowns on pg 99
"I was waiting by the red clowns... I went to be with you because you laugh on the tilt-a-whirl, you throw your head back and laugh." 
Sally forces Esperanza to stay at the carnival, with a bunch of  "Red Clowns". Red in this means uncomfortableness. Esperanza is stuck in a tight situation either to run away from the scary red clowns or listen to Sally and stay at the carnival. I think this chapter's importance is not just about being raped it is about the color red itself.
        The idea of red signifying uncomfort reappears in "Our Good Day". 
“Until then I am a red balloon, a ballon tied to an anchor,” pg 9
I think this quote means that uncomfort drags her down and she is unable to reach up. She is not able to express herself because of her environment and her place in the social status. She is like a balloon tied to an anchor, stuck at the bottom forever until someone cuts her string. Then she can fly away freely. Her struggles are the anchor while the string is in her inner self.
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The Significance of Windows

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
        In the book, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros there are many vignettes. In these vignettes there are hidden symbolisms, like feet and windows. In class, we read many vignettes titled My Name,No Speak English, and Sally. 
        In My Name, Esperanza talks about her grandmother Esperanza who is forced into marriage and who spent most of her days sitting by a window. Esperanza said that she does not
" ... but I don't want to inherit her place by the window." pg 11
I think this means that both of these women are trapped and they do not accept their prison inside the window but they also understand that  the outside world is not made for them. 
         In No Speak English, Mamacita moves in to Mango street, and she never comes back down. People think she is too fat to get down, but Esperanza knows that she doesn't come down because she doesn't know english. So everyday, Mamacita sits by the window and listens to the radio. 
"She sits by the window and plays the Spanish radio show."pg 77
Just like the other vignette, Mamacita is trapped in her own world. It is America, and she can not speak english, so everyday she looks through her window and dreams of knowing how to speak in english.
       In Sally, a girl named Sally is always completely under her father’s rule. At school she is gossiped about from all the boys. Her father thinks it is her beauty that makes it dangerous for her to go outside of the house, so her father restricts her from going out. Sally wishes she didn’t have to go home after school all the time.  Esperanza says 
"And if you opened the little window latch and gave it a shove, the windows would swing open..."pg 82
I think in here, the window is an emotional feeling. Sally feels like a prisoner in her house, and she wants to be free. She just has to open the latch to freedom. Esperanza thinks Sally is wonderful and she should be free to be Esperanza's best friend. 
        In all three vignettes, the window represents as a barrier to true life or happiness. The window pushes them back from getting their wishes and desires. In conclusion I think that the window is like a wall, and one side is where they are at while the other side is their imagination.  

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The Color Purple: Celie vs Nettie

Author: Billy Lau // Category:


   The fiction novel, The Color Purple by Alice Walker talks about two characters lives and their similarities and differences. Celie is very shy, but later on her personality strengthens through adversity. Nettie is a bit more stronger and is willing to stand up for herself. Nettie is much more faithful in God than Celie, however they both face gender inequality in their societies. Through out the book, Celie and Nettie both have very similar problems, but they both handle these problems completely differently.
         In the beginning, she is portrayed as a girl who is in need for God. Celie takes religion very seriously because she is desperate.  She needs religion to help her go through her many problems. When Nettie leaves, and Celie gets left behind with Albert she is even more hungry for God. She writes, “ ... She run way from home. She say she hate to leave our stepma but she had to git out..." (pg 16) However, God does not respond and Celie starts to lose more and more faith. In the end, She stops writing to God altogether. “Well, us talk and talk about God, but I’m still adrift. Trying to chase that old white man out of my head. I been so busy thinking bout him I never truly notice nothing God make. Not a blade of corn (how it do that?) not the color purple (where it come from?). . . . “ She also looks at religion as an answer to gender inequality and racism, but still no response. As the book goes on, she loses more and more faith because God has not done nothing to help her out. Celie is shaped by God, because this toughens her up so that she can stand up for herself later against Albert and not need God. 
         Albert is one of the few characters who hurt Celie and Nettie, because he thinks that they are all inferior to him. He disrespects both of them and by this they both are affected by gender inequality. Celie believes that women are made weaker than man, and it was always like this from birth. She gets beat and whipped if she does something wrong, even though she does not have to do that task.Celie is so sick of all this bad treatment from men, so she writes to Nettie that “Well, you know wherever there’s a man, there’s trouble.”(pg 205). Celie did not want to get married in the first place, and she sees most men as trouble. I think this leads to why she has feelings for Shug than for other men. “Us sleep like sisters, me and Shug.” Another time in the book, a girl named Sofia stood up against her husband, and left him when he tried to beat her. Sofia mentally hit her husband where it hurt the most. Celie looks up to this too, and soon copies what Sofia did. Celie then leaves her husband, and overcomes gender inequality. Eventually, Celie gets a different life now due to their choices on what they did to solve gender inequality.
         Nettie on the other hand, is completely different from Celie. She escapes bad men and does not have so many problems. Therefore it is easier for her to believe in God.   Religion is a huge part of Nettie’s life from the start to the end. She has a heavy belief that God will always be there to help her through out her life. Nettie uses religion differently to solve problems, because she is not solving her own problems but others.  She goes to Africa as a missionary to convert people to Christianity and she also gives the kids in Africa an education. Nettie has faith in God and she believes in him with all her heart. In conclusion, Nettie has a hard life , but she still gives thanks to God from time to time.
Nettie also faces gender inequality.  When in America, Albert keeps looking at her and stalking her in a weird way. One time Albert makes a move, but Nettie fights back which results in Nettie getting kicked out of the house. “...You sure is looking fine Miss Nettie and stuff like that. I tried to ignore him and walk faster… I started to fight him, and ... hurt him bad enough to leave me alone.”  (Page 127). In Africa, males and females play a different role.  The society in Africa makes it so that women can never be alike men. She observes others being hurted because of their gender.  As a result, Nettie never overcomes gender inequality.
        Celie and Nettie are two different characters who have different personalities and views on gender inequality and religion. Celie is treated horribly due to her weakness of not wanted to stand up for herself, but later learns from others how to not get taken over, while Nettie has conquered most of her problems with the help of God. That is how each solves their problems. Nettie finds openings to fix her problems in her life while Celie deals with them straight on. I think Alice Walker’s point is to show conflict between faith in God and in gender inequality. She also hints at to never let others overcome you and that through God problems could be resolved.

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Rebuttal against Vinh on:Should teens be allowed to vote?

Author: Billy Lau // Category:
Should teens be allowed to vote? Vinh said 
"the government need younger people to participate or else it wouldn’t be a democracy. The country system is run by democracy where young people as young as 18 were fighting for the civil war, this is one of the reasons why the 26th amendment were passed down. "
      How is that true? A democracy does not have to have young people. He needs to back that up with evidence even if that is true.  He also said people as young as 18 were fighting for the civil war, so people should be able to be allowed in democracy because of this. People back then fighting in the war were just ordinary people. They were farmers, kids, and regular people who wanted to fight. Vinh says that these is the kind of people that should be in democracy.
He also said  
What have teenagers done to the country that will give congress a reason to pass down a law that allow teenagers below the age of 18 to vote? None.
Well, Crime statistics show that approximately one-third of all victims of violent crime are teenagers, between the ages of 12 and 19.Almost half of all violent crimes are committed by perpetrators under 25 years old. This shows that teenagers are a major part of the crime world, and so teenagers should not be voting for our leader
    Even though I oppose teenage voting, Vinh said 
Teenagers are a bunch of young, spoil brats that doesn’t even pay for the tax.
First of all, teenagers do not have to pay taxes anyway. Second, teenagers are not spoiled brats. Just because teens create a lot of crimes, it does not mean they are spoiled brats. They have a purpose for causing crimes, most of them are just ignorant or are desperate.
      Ultimately, I totally agree with Vinh that teenagers should not be able to vote.I think this way,because teenagers might choose an unjust ruler that will help them not be guilty for a crime, MOST are not as well educated as MOST adults, and that we might not vote at all and just take it for granted.
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The Color Purple: Celie's Letters to God

Author: Billy Lau // Category:

Celie is going through a really hard time. The society back then did not favor women. They get beaten by their husband, which they can get at like 14. Women had to take care of kids and all the chores in the house. Men could just go off and do anything they wanted to. Celie needs help in life, so she turns to God. God is Celie's only help and hope.
"May you give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me." pg1  
“With God help.” Pg3
She prays everyday and is totally desperate for religion. I think that as time goes on, God will never show her a sign. She will lose faith and turn away from God. Her relationship with God is at the bare minimum. She does not seem to know how to pray, because she does not say “Amen” and she prays like she is writing letters to a best friend. Her beliefs are that God  will help her and her sister.
"I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. But I say I'll take care of you."
Celie has many different characteristics. She is a strong woman, because she wants to help her sister. Celie is also scared of men, especially her dad. She always gets beaten for something she did not do.
"He beat me...cause...I winked at a boy...I don't even look at mens.. I only look at women...caused I'm not scared of them ." pg5
Although Celie is scared of men, she is still obedient and she works super hard for them. The dad describes Celie as a very hard working woman.
"She ugly. He say. But she ain't no stranger to hard work. And she clean. And God done fixed her. You could do everything just like you want to and she ain't gonna make you feed it or clothe it."
Celie has been changed by the society and environment around her. She has become strong like a rock, too obedient to people, and scared of men. In the future I bet that Celie will have her own family, but her husband might treat her nicely because of her traits.

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