Blog 092614

         I've never been asked that question, but if someone was to come up to me and ask "What are you?", at first I would be a bit confused. When I describe myself, I don't think to simply say my race, because I believe there's many other factors to determine and describe yourself as a person.
         I don't believe society necessarily makes mixed race people take a side, but I do think they don't really know how to "define" them. I guess in a way, some people may think to themselves if they consider them to be black or white. I personally find it completely unnecessary to force that choice upon someone. In The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, I've never noticed people asking for Rachel's take on whether she's black or white. I've more noticed them defining her without her input, calling her a white girl. In the beginning of the novel when one of her classmates was talking about how she's a "blue eyed white girl" that showed evidence of this. I saw a hint of The Girl Who Fell From The Sky in the article and video mostly through when they were discussing how people would ask them "what they are". In fact, Rachel once asked Brick the same question.
         After watching the interview with Heidi Durrow, the author of The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, I have gained more of an understanding of her take on mixed race in America and being defined by your race. I believe Heidi would be in support and proud of this club, where you can share your feelings and thoughts about having a mixed heritage. I've gathered this opinion through the interview because she often talked about how rare it is to meet people like her, so I think she would see it as a good place to talk and bond with others. Heidi would always respond with "I am a story, and I bet you are too.", this connects directly to the article's quote because it proves that when someone asks who you are, you shouldn't have to respond with your racial background. You should be able to explain who you are as a person.

Blog 092414

          After meeting with Mr. Cheng and conferencing about my possible essay thesis, I feel less stressed about having to write four pages based on it. I can't think of something that I didn't like in the conference, I actually think we were able to go over all the expectations thoroughly. In my essay, I will add more components about analyzing my thesis and the characters, not just stating the facts.

Blog 092514

          When I think of beauty, I think about the goodness and warmth of a person. A superficial viewpoint many people have of being beautiful is being thin and pretty with clear skin. I would not see someone who puts other people down or thinks too highly of themselves as beautiful, I believe beauty is based off of being a good person with a positive outlook on life. At times I would say I can show beauty through treating others with kindness and being inclusive, but of course, like most people I've had my weak moments. There have been times where I've shown little to no beauty, like most everyone has in their lifetime. In a physical point of view, I believe everyone is beautiful. The previous question made me feel slightly uncomfortable, because I believe beauty can be defined in many ways. I would see beauty in America as a negative thing because of all of the standards and unrealistic expectations people have in their minds in order to become "beautiful". I don't think gender makes a difference in peoples definition of beauty, and I believe that everyone has beauty and it's a fairly important characteristic.
          I believe if Rachel had watched the Ted video, she would've been pleased by the model speakers words. It would've been encouraging and comforting to hear that everyone deals with insecurities in their body type. I think Rachel could connect to, but also be slightly insulted by the video about curly hair. Although it is possible to get your hair chemically straightened, it's important to feel comfortable with your natural hair too. On page 11, Rachel says "Aunt Loretta puts her nails in my hair and makes one part then another.". This shows the painful and timely process Rachel and her family would go through to simply achieve a certain hair look.
          In the physical sense, I believe these videos relate to what I wrote earlier about beauty and societies perception of it. If it was up to me, I wish everyone could be comfortable with who they are and not have certain goals to attain based off of other peoples bodies.

Blog 092314

Blog 092314

Passage:

“If there’s no one else to tell another side - the only story that can be told is the story that becomes true.” (p 173)

Text-to-self:

This passage/quote from The Girl Who Fell From The Sky spoke to me through the deeper meaning of the sentence. It’s saying that without another side to a story, you can only share your side which soon becomes the truth. Many times I’ve heard people share stories with me, and this quote made me think deeper about if that could’ve been the truth, or simply their interpretation of the scenario. There could be many ways to look at this quote by Heidi W. Durrow, but from what I gathered I saw it as a relation to peoples interpretations of situations or lies. In correlation with the book, I think this quote was about Rachel losing her virginity to John Bailey. No one else was there to show evidence of this happening, so Rachel telling people that this occurred makes this the only option as a true story. In my lifetime, I have told people things that could be slightly out of proportion, but no one else could rebuttal it or believe it to be untrue because there’s no evidence for that reasoning. After sharing that slightly blown out of proportion story, you being to tell yourself that that is what truly occurred. I believe in some sense, Rachel would tell herself that she didn’t actually lose her virginity to John Bailey, when in fact, she did. This passage spoke to me in a big way, and I also think it could relate to many other people.

Blog 091714

Option 2 Analysis

"What must Nella have seen? Not the ground, but an expanse. It was this step and then another, and another. This was what Nella saw. This was what Nella did. She was journeying to where her love was enough, and it could fill the sky." (156)

This quote from Laronne, Nella's secretary before she passed, has much deeper meaning to it than what may appear at first. A simple and straightforward analysis of this passage is that Laronne is explaining the moment leading up to Nella's death and what could have been going through her mind. Yet in reality, there's a much deeper meaning and thought behind this quote. A motif I've taken from this paragraph is that if you take all the bad things in life, and put them all together without accounting for all the good things in your life, it paints a picture in your mind that life is much worse than it really is. Nella took all the negative things in her life bit by bit, and each was a stepping stone leading up to the moment when she jumped off the roof with her children in her arms. She saw falling as flying, and hitting the ground as a relief to where she could forget about the mistakes she'd made in her lifetime.

Blog 091514

War is hell in the new 'Mockingjay' trailer

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/09/15/jennifer-lawrence-new-mockingjay-trailer/

Text-to-text
In this article about the upcoming movie, Mockingjay, the trailer gives you the overview of what you can expect when the film is released in early November. This obviously related to the books I've read in the series of The Hunger Games, and painted a clear picture in my mind. This article also reminded me about all the times I've been anticipating new novels or movies to release and the excitement and impatience I feel.

Text-to-world
The article "War is hell in the new 'Mockingjay' trailer" relates to society and the world today by getting people anxious for the new movie to come out. The article publicizes the trailer more so as the views raise, the movie sales hopefully will as well.

Text-to-self
As an individual, I could connect this article to other movies/trailers I've seen and experienced a sense of nostalgia, feeling the excitement of hearing about a new film. I thought the article and trailer connected to the other movies in the series and also had a similar theme to Divergent.

Blog 091214

Video and Multimedia: "#FERGUSON"

• In this video, #FERGUSON, it shows an overview and highlights key parts of petitioning for Ferguson. This multimedia resource was an inspirational and touching take to connect the viewer to the situation at hand.
• When they showed the signs saying "Hands up! Don't shoot!" I was drawn into the movement more. I agree with this argument and I also find it moving and persuasive. It gives off the message that they aren't hear for aggression, but simply to get their point across. One last part that stook out to me in the video was a young African american boy holding a cardboard sign that says "No justice no peace". It's message was good, but what mostly drew me in was the fact that a young child was outside petitioning for his rights.
• This video connects to "The Children's March" in the sense that a good amount of it has to do with children standing up and defending their rights. This video is also different to the movie "The Children's March" because it shows a wide range of ages of people petitioning. The main focus isn't youthfulness, but simply addressing the situation.
• 30 entertainment. (Aug. 14, 2014). #FERGUSON-a look at what it was like during the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. United States.

Ferguson and Schools: Why Teachers Can't Ignore Ferguson as School Begins

• In this article by the Washington Post, the author goes into detail about how school communities and teacher's can't ignore Ferguson. The author is Valerie Strauss, who also includes a segment with David B. Cohen.
• This was a powerful article to me hearing from David Cohen about his teaching experience with tragedies and discussing Ferguson with his students. I found the line saying "It's difficult to talk about for those of us who have the privileged option  to ignore race in America when we choose to." a very powerful part of the article.  He later goes into detail about how important it is to not miss important details of our country's history, such as Ferguson. David finishes his argument saying "If we ignore it, we don't equip students to deal with it any better in the present or the future."
• This article relates to "The Children's March" in many ways. Children are learning about their history and power in many ways, through information and actions.
• Strauss, V. (2014, August 22). Why teachers can’t ignore ferguson as school begins. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/08/22/why-teachers-cant-ignore-ferguson-as-school-begins/

Police Brutality: I'm black, my brother's white... and he's a cop who shot a black man on duty

• In the article "I'm black, my brother's white... and he's a cop who shot a black man on duty", written by Zach Straffored, he touches on his brother's personality. 
• This was a powerful article where the author hit the reader emotionally. When talking about feeling slightly out of place being mixed, he  says "But my brother, Mitch, didn't. He loved me unapologetically. He loved my loudly.". This is one of his many proofs of evidence for him being shocked to learn about his brother's racist actions, saying "Mitch was supposed to be different than the rest".
• This relates to "The Grace of Silence" in the sense that shocking facts are discovered about family members.
• Kristof, N. (2014, August 30). I’m black, my brother’s white … and he’s a cop who shot a black man on duty. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-after-ferguson-race-deserves-more-attention-not-less.html?nytmobile=0&_r=1

The Black-White Divide: When Whites Just Don't Get It

• "When Whites Just Don't Get It" by Nicholas Kristof is about how racism throughout the United States deserves more attention, especially after Ferguson.
• A powerful quote I found in the article was "All these constitute not a black problem or a white problem, but an American problem." This was an interesting thought to me, and it drew me in to the text.
• This article related to "The Grace of Silence" through the way it addresses racism in a less judgmental, but more general way.
• Kristof, N. (2014, August 19). When Whites Just Don’t Get It. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-after-ferguson-race-deserves-more-attention-not-less.html?nytmobile=0&_r=1

Significance of Ferguson: America Is Not For Black People

• "America Is Not For Black People" by Greg Howard refers to the what seems to be never ending racist events and controversy.

Satire: How Many More Teenagers Have To Die Before Racism Just Sort Of Goes Away On It's Own?

Blog 090414

• Body Issues Through Social Media
• Social media affects how many teens look at themselves when comparing their bodies to celebrities and other athletes figures. It's also proven with many apps and tools to make yourself appear thinner and diminish your imperfections. It gives society the idea that having a perfect body is a must have.
• http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S534283-0-2427&artno=0000365023&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Body%20image&title=Want%20the%20Perfect%20Selfie%3F%20There%27s%20an%20App%20for%20That&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
• Social Media Trending Unrealistic Body Characteristics
• Through social media, teens are given unrealistic goals for their bodies. Many trends arose through social media, such as a "thigh-gap".
• http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S534283-0-2427&artno=0000363893&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Anorexia%20nervosa&title=Fueled%20by%20Social%20Media%2C%20%27Thigh%20Gap%27%20Focus%20Can%20Lure%20Young%20Women%2E%2E%2E&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
• Companies and Societies Picture of The Women
• Through advertisements, corporations, and magazines, girls are fed the idea that their bodies have to be perfection. Unrealistic and extreme weight loss are a result of this.
• http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S534283-0-2427&artno=0000357843&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Anorexia%20nervosa&title=Former%20Model%3A%20%27What%20Young%20Girls%20Can%20Learn%20from%20My%20Anorexia%27&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
• Society Teaching Women To Go To Great Lengths For The Perfect Body
• Women have been brainwashed by social media, magazines, and companies with the idea that having visible collarbones and thigh gaps is normal and expected of them. This teaches them to think having an eating disorder is okay and 100% healthy.
• http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S534283-0-2427&artno=0000361530&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Bulimia&title=%27Anorexia%20Is%20a%20Lifestyle%2C%20Not%20a%20Disease%27&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
• Society's Expectations for the Average Woman
• Through social media and magazines, people have been taught to strive for thin thighs and visible rib cages. In fact, it's not difficult to find groups of people supporting unhealthy eating habits such as anorexia or bulimia.
• http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S534283-0-2427&artno=0000353922&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Bulimia&title=Being%20Too%20Thin%20Has%20Consequences&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N