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Political Literacy by Gabrielle P. Kreidie (Advanced Essay #2)

Posted by Gabrielle Kreidie in English 3 - Block - D on

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This unit we discussed the difference definitions worldwide on the topic of literacy. We discussed in groups the power literacy has to satisfy one's thoughts through writing, comprehending and reading. The essay below, had to incorporate a thesis on the topic of literacy due to what we took away from this unit. We had to incorporate outside sources and a scene of memory to help us justify our thoughts. I am very much proud of my essay and am effectively able to communicate my ideas on political literacy and the importance that it has on our lives.


The power of political literacy is that the smartest and most determined have the most courage to use it. One of the most genius political creatures in our world today is Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. He’s powerful, commanding, strong and forceful. Here in the US, we all have this necessity to say we hate him. Too many don’t understand the capabilities of this guy and what he hopes to accomplish. To fully accomplish a excellence in understanding political literacy, one must understand and follow the news, create their own educated opinions, and utilize information and evidence in a beneficial way.  


At the 70th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, as one would expect hundreds of world leaders (both democratically elected and forcefully elected) took part of the occasion. In addition to leaders of the EU, poor countries and countries with small populations, the President of the Russian Federation, a political icon, and tiger hunting shirtless beast, arrived at the event, as well. This was a very important diplomatic mission for Putin. With his increasingly voice in the Syrian conflict and strained relationships with multiple world leaders, he had something to prove. What greater way than by having a one on one interview with Charlie Rose!


“A lot can be done, but not everyone immediately succeeds in everything. How long has it taken the democratic process to develop in the United States? Since it was founded. So, do you think that as regards democracy everything is settled now in America? If this were so, there would be no Ferguson issue, right? There would be no other issues of similar kind, there would be no police abuse. Our goal is to see all these issues and respond to them timely and properly. The same applies to Russia. We also have a lot of problems.” The quote is a answer Putin gave to Rose on the topic of political instability in Russia. Putin connected the US to Russia and talked about the ways where the two were so similar. He later went on to not fully criticize Obama and rather have it as a right of the American people to create their very own opinions on their leader. Through soft and hard questions, Putin responded with a exquisite sentence. He gave tremendous answers that had the ability for the world to see him as a equal and as a intelligent guy, which he wanted. He is truly a master of literacy.


The Chief of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, talks about the importance of reading with the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals, “Promoting literacy must stand at the heart of this new agenda,” she said. “By empowering individual women and men, literacy helps to advance sustainable development across the board – from better healthcare and food security to eradicating poverty and promoting decent work.” A campaign for all students of the world to have basic education has evolved across the world. Most notably, people that advocate for equality in education want all people to be literate.


It has been proven in multiple studies throughout the years, that when people are literate they have on average a greater intelligence level than that of one who can’t read, comprehend or write. Across our world are able to use their literate powers to undercover the truths and realities that hold our nations and beliefs.


To Gloria Steinem, a feminist idol and writer herself, states that in order to be a member of our world today, through being informed of the conflicts facing the world, “you have to be literate, which a lot of women in the world are not; and you still have to make change happen in real life, because empathy—the ability not just to know but to feel—only happens when we are together with all five senses”. According to Gloria Steinem, literacy in today’s way of life is not reading fiction, the false stories, rather it’s reading the truth. That’s how you change the world.


As it’s known, nearly a billion people have basic or below basic literacy of their native languages, worldwide. Most of them women or young girls. We can change that number. Nelson Mandela, a hero to the people that want to change the world, founded a foundation named after himself in 1999. This foundation fights for his morals for the world’s citizens. For a 12-month period, the foundation developed a campaign to increase literacy in areas where it was most needed. Through the influence of the book Long Walk to Freedom by Madiba, the people of South Africa had the motivation to create encouragement nationwide to learn how to read and encourage the understanding of others literacy levels through following current events and creating informative opinions. This has the potential to become a worldwide campaign, so that all could create their own opinions on Vladimir Putin.


We may all be different from one another. Different genders, ethnicities, jobs, families and nations. But all in all, we are humans. We are the creators of creativity and warriors of humanity. Literacy improves us as human beings, as educators, as ourselves. Giving the chance of all (which everyone deserves) to take advantage of this superpower completes our charity to the greater good.

Work Cited:


"Interview To American TV Channel CBS And PBS." President Of Russia. Kremlin, 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50380>.


Kramer, Jane. "Gloria Steinem's Life on the Feminist Frontier." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/road-warrior-profiles-jane-kramer)>.


"Literacy for All 'must Stand at the Heart' of New Sustainable Development Agenda – UNESCO Chief." UN News Center. UN, 8 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51818#.Vkk3X1UViko>.


"Nelson Mandela Leadership for Literacy Project." – Activities – Nelson Mandela Foundation. Nelson Mandela Foundation, 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <https://www.nelsonmandela.org/activities/entry/nelson-mandela-leadership-for-literacy-project>.


Advanced Essay #2: Central

Posted by Noah Weinberger in English 3 - Block - D on


Before I start, I would like to thank those who helped me with this essay, and I would like to thank you, the reader, for taking the time to read this. I focused mainly on the general atmosphere of Central High School and it´s learning environment as a whole. I am very pleased with being able to let my angry emotions flow out from the awful experiance at Central which allowed me to write this essay with a passion to let everyone know how the dreaded school made me feel. As a writer, I plan to write many more things that I can directly connect my feelings to in a similar fasion. I also work to revise how I input my emotions in future assignments. With No further ado, Lets begin.




A school's experience can greatly impact the way one learns. I am here to talk about Central High School, who greatly ruined my learning experience. ¨Central is such a horrible school¨ I´d tell myself every day I got home. Central was one of those schools that does not expect you to make any mistakes, and always expected you to be on your A game. However, even after trying my very best, it was not good enough. F here, F there, Fs everywhere I looked. It was impossible to pass with solid grades at Central, even after hours of study and hours of work. I believe that my ADHD made it very difficult to excel, because I learned at a slower pace than everyone. That being said, none of the teachers got the memo. Even after countless attempts to connect to the teachers and explain to them that I worked at a slower pace, while having an IEP to back it up, they just could not teach me in the way I needed to learn.



One teacher, in particular, was the worst.  My Biology teacher. Ms. Bonner was her name, and detention was her twisted game. Show up late, detention. Miss an assignment, detention. Ask for help, get talked to in a way that made you feel like trash, then detention. If that wasn't enough, she straight up lied to parents about how classroom and working conditions were student friendly. She also lied about her relationship with the class being on par with friendliness and connectivity to working on assignments step by step. If that wasn't enough, she lied to me about telling my old cab driver that I needed to stay after school for detention. It turns out that she never communicated that to the cab driver and when I showed up to the cab later than usual, I got in trouble with the cab driver due to him saying I wasted his time.



The story called ¨I Just Want to be Average,¨ written by Mike Rose, had a situation that was like looking in a mirror with my situation at Central. ¨My homeroom was supervised by Brother Dill, a troubled and unstable man also who taught freshman English.¨ Brother Dill acts very similar to how Ms. Bonner acted, and this quote reflects greatly on Ms. Bonner as far as her teaching skills go. These types of actions provide stress for many students, as they are pressured to retain a constant behavior each day. Said teachers also expect many of their students to refrain from making any mistakes, as if they expect them to be perfect.



 The only class I ever loved was my Mandarin Chinese class, where we had a nice, strict, yet compassionate teacher, who took his time with everyone and made sure we learned. However, staying at Central for the one class that I enjoyed was not worth me failing my other classes. I gave up hope when I received a notification from the school, claiming that I had failed too many times to participate in extracurricular activities.



This whole predicament is not just about teachers, It was also about the other people there as well. There were only about 3 to 4 kids that were friendly while the rest were pretty much stuck up jerks. There was 1 student that purposefully got on my nerves. He fooled me with his friends and then he called me gullible. He called me out in class when I screwed up. He criticized me for things I couldn´t help. But out of this all, it´s almost as if all the Central students hated each other, due to the school having such a bad atmosphere.



There was even a thing going around, in which, every Friday was dubbed ´Freshman Friday´.  On ¨Freshman Friday¨, most of the seniors aimed and/or picked on the freshman just for fun. Even after the principal said it was not to happen anymore, seniors still did it. Mike Rose describes a similar situation in his story. ¨I just want to be average.¨ In the story ¨I just want to be average¨ this line is spoken by Ken who is struggling to fit in. This quote represents how I felt amongst the people of Central when they treated me horribly.



Central put a lot of stress on me from these experiences, and yet I could continue to talk about so much more. Central, who claims to be diverse, is absolutely not diverse in any way. In order to be diverse, you can´t just accept a bunch of Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Indians, Mentally impaired, physically disabled people and such. You also need to prove that you can work with them as well. And Central Failed in the vast majority of this.



It´s imperative that schools should be honest, accepting, diverse, and have a warm atmosphere in general. Without these traits, it would be very difficult to retain a steady learning environment. Such schools, like Central, who possess little to none of these traits, Fail to sustain a suitable learning environment for everyone. In cases like these, the student struggles to sustain a suitable grade, which can endanger their future colleges and careers. The student may also be frowned upon by many individuals who would criticize them for things they cannot control. In conclusion, for Central to call themselves a ¨diverse¨ school, without possessing any of the traits listed, proves that they are not diverse enough to follow their own claims.



All in all, The only school that has followed Central's ¨Diverse claims¨ is Science Leadership Academy. In Science Leadership Academy, the students are usually teamed up with other students to complete group related activities. Science Leadership Academy mostly dedicates their time to making a warm and friendly environment, while still retaining hard work and tough challenges. The teachers are very friendly, have a nice and generally slow pace when it comes to teaching by making assignments easy to understand. The periods where we dedicate time to study up and complete assignments are controlled by teachers who try very hard to help you succeed and raise your grade by keeping you on track with what assignments you may of missed and advice to do better jobs in other classes. And best of all, this school accepts any race, ethnicity, and mental/medical conditioned student in order to try to help them excel at their own pace.



I´ve come to literally love school through Science Leadership Academy and it's teachings. Something I could never do before.

Advance Essay #1 Picking a High School

Posted by Jason Greene in English 3 - Block - D on

My goal for this paper was to talk about and give a inside look on the high school selection process for me.  What I think I did good on was talking about my process and talking about my emotions.  I think I did a pretty good on this paper.  At some points I think it can get a little boring so one thing I would like to fix would be to try to make it a little more interesting for the reader.

In a small town, 8th graders usually do not have to worry about what high school they are going to go to.  There is only one elementary school, one middle school and one high school.  Students are with the same people for all of their lives. In big cities like Philadelphia, if you do not want to go to your neighborhood high school you can apply to other schools and if you get in you may go to that school.  In Philadelphia, you can apply up to 5 schools that is not your neighborhood school.  There are “Special Admission” and “Citywide Admission” schools in Philadelphia.  Those are the best schools in the city.  If you go to one of these schools you will get better educational opportunities than you could get at your neighborhood school.


I was one of the students that wanted to go to the a better school than Germantown  High School, which was the school I would be zoned into.  As a straight A student and a good test taker I knew I could get into any high school I wanted to go to.  I applied to Central, Science Leadership Academy, Franklin Learning Center, Engineering and Science and GAMP.  At first I really wanted to go to Central.  My mom went there so I wanted to go there as well.  One of my best friends was applying to Central as well and we were planning to go to Central.  It was almost like if I didn’t get into Central my life was going to end.  Then when I went to SLA for my interview and shadow day I really liked it a lot.  The teachers seemed nice and coming from a small middle school I liked how it SLA had a small population as well.  I did not like SLA as much as Central at the time but I thought this was a nice backup plan just in case I didn’t get into my number 1 choice.


In March we got our letters from the School District that said what schools we did and did not get into.  I got into all five of my school choices.  I was so excited! I got into Central!  But something was holding me back from saying yes to Central that same day.  It was SLA.  I couldn’t believe it.  I have been wanting to go to Central since I was 10 and now I was second guessing it.  I really couldn’t make up my mind.  It was at the point that I was staying up until 2 am on school nights just laying in my bed just thinking of the pros and cons of each school.  My mom told my Grandma about my problem so she wanted to take me out to dinner to talk to me about.


It was the night before the due date to let the schools know where you were going and my Grandma and I went out to dinner.

“So tell me what you like about both schools.”  She asked.

“Well SLA is a much smaller school and I like that a lot.  I also like how as a freshman I can go to the Franklin Institute every Wednesday.” I replied

“What about Central?” She said right after.

“Central is Central.  It has always been one of the best public schools in the city.  I am going to get a better education there and be more challenged at that school as well, plus my mom went there too.”  I replied once again.

“Do they both have baseball teams?  I know you love baseball.”

“Yeah they do”

At that moment our waiter brought us our food out.  My Grandmother got a salad and I got a bacon cheeseburger with fries.

“Well think about this”  She said before she took a bite of her salad.

“Central has way more kids than SLA, like way more kids.  You are more likely to play for varsity at SLA way sooner than you are at Central because there is more likely more talent at Central than at SLA because of population.

I never thought about that.  I always wanted to play baseball in high school and I wanted to play varsity as soon as I could.

“I never thought about that”  I said.

“Just a thought”  She replied.


The next day at school I went to my counselor’s office to give her my decision.  I still didn’t check off the box next to the school I was going to attend to in the fall.

“Jason this is not a bad problem to have”  Mrs. Watson, my counselor said.  

“If I were to rank Philly public schools in order I would say number one is Masterman, then Central and SLA at number three.  You got into two of the three best schools in the city.  Something not many kids in this school or this city could say.”  She said in a soft voice.

I just sat in a chair right across from her looking at the paper and listening to her.

“Look I know this is going to be a hard decision for you so you can stay here as long as you can.”

She walked out the office.  I just sat there.  This was the hardest decision of my life up to that point.  I again thought of the pros and cons of that school.  Mrs. Watson came into her office and asked if I made my decision.  I finally did.  I ended up choosing SLA.


Looking back,  picking a high school should have not been a hard decision for me.  I  over thought it.  It is just high school.  I thought it was going to be a choice that would haunt me for the rest of my life if I thought I didn’t make the right choice.  But I was wrong.  I am glad I choose SLA.  I made lots of friends and learned a lot.  I would not have changed my decision.





Advanced Essay #1: Support Is Key.

Posted by Fodie Camara in English 3 - Block - D on

My goals were to tell people about my life and how your mother is always going to be there for you no matter what. I stated in my paper that being lonely and independent isn't good for you all the time, I can understand sometimes but not all of your life. Support in life is key, support helps you a lot in life. It helps you become successful in life with a lot of support. I feel that I did extremely well on this paper with detail and everything else. I would like to improve on probably giving more facts and making the paper a little longer.. 

Family means stick together no matter what! I always think about all the fun and bad times we had as a family. How annoying everyone was to me and how life is changing very quickly in a blink in a eye. We are all growing up so quickly and fast. One day my mother will be here and the next day she won’t.  I think about how we all are maturing as people. Family means a lot to me because I really learned what family is really about and the meaning of what family means. Having my back through the good times and worst. The person that who I know who will always have my back is my mother always and forever no matter what it is. 

I hear my mom screaming and yelling “Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s your big day.” I hear the sweet loud voice and then try to head back to sleep, but my mom comes in the room and wakes me up. I finally wake up tired and happy because today is my big day. Time to become a big boy now and it's time to step up. I finally get up out of bed smiling and cheesing hard to start getting ready for the big day. I go brush my teeth clean as I could and go wash up as the best as I could.

When I’m done that I watch my mom iron my suit clothes and take out my new dress shoes. My dad comes to pick my family up to go to my kindergarten graduation. I realized that my big day is finally here, I have achieved my first goal and that is to pass kindergarten. “Fodie Camara”, the announcer called my name on the mic and I headed to the stage smiling and my stomach growling like I had to use the restroom. I was very nervous to walk up there. My family members and mom was all taking photos of me. My mother was there smiling at me and congratulating me all I seen was that big happy smile and then made me smile.

My mom helped me get to this goal. She helped me with my homework every single night till I fully understand it. She cares for me so much, she wants me to progress in life and be successful. I know even though if she is annoying me and trying to be smart, she just wants the best for me always. My mom really care for me because she tried her best to help me even though knowing limited english she sometimes even late for work because of me and I appreciate that.

I woke up smiling after the best dream. I woke up happy and felt so good about myself. Today was my big day, my day and no one else. No one in the world was going to mess up my birthday. It was August 28 2005. It was my sixth birthday. I was getting older and older every single year, month, days, minutes, seconds. I finally woke out of bed and got dressed. I had a bunch of new clothes to pick from to wear for my birthday thanks to my mother. I had the sun shades, shorts and a white tee.

My mom said “get downstairs now, it’s time to go to chuck e cheese.”. I came down stairs and we left on our way to Chuck e cheese. We went there we bought food and played games for about 5 or 6 hours. My dad came and picked us up and we went back home. I asked my mother if we could have some chicken kabobs and she said yes. It felt good getting treated like a prince and being caring for. One of the days I will never forget about this day thanks to my lovely mother that I adore and love so much.

Mom and mother is two different things. A mom is a person’s mother. A mother is a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth. My mom is my mom because she is the best mother ever in the world. Many people thinks it is a good thing to be independent as a person and be lonely but that isn’t always a good thing. I don’t know why people always want to be lonely. That isn’t a good thing. You always need some type of support in your life no matter what good or bad. Support is the key to having a good or average life. A mother is always going to be there for her child regardless what the situation is. Even if your mother and you don’t get along, she will be there for you. For that, I love my mother to death…

Advanced Essay 1: Kobe Nabried

Posted by Kobe Nabried in English 3 - Block - D on

Days By the Water

Kobe Nabried

Water Stream


[The goal of this paper was to polish and publish a collection of my summer journal entries. In this essay I’m confident that I successfully expressed the way that I felt in a vivid and relatable manner. An aspect of this essay that could be improved is the vocabulary that was used. The essay becomes somewhat monotonous at certain points. ]




The water was clear and calm, as it always was. The few usual patrons mingled with each other underneath of the awning that sat across the pool from the lifeguard station. The shaded area where they sat would soon be compromised by the setting sun. The midday guard had just departed as 6 O’cock rolled around, signaling the end of her shift. The opening guard took it upon himself to become relieved of his responsibilities and left an hour before he was scheduled to. That was the regular routine between the two of them. The midday often did her job as it was to be done. He had apparently become jaded half way through the summer and decided that once another guard had arrived he was not obligated to complete his job.

That was business as usual at this place though. I rarely minded if either of them had left early. It was a slow pool anyway; everyday was basically the same. The midday guards departure marked the beginning of the two hours that I would spend guarding alone until closing time,y favorite two hours of every day. I could finally relax and retreat into my mind to sort my thoughts.

As the last two regular patrons start back to their apartments, I put my earbuds in and let the music bring life and color to the dull world that I live in while on guard. “Don’t want to be an American Idiot!” are the first lyrics that I hear as Green Day’s explosive energy and high speed tempo make their way into my thoughts. The music was rarely on the forefront of my mind though. It had always served as a background for the things that went on in my mind, a soundtrack of sorts.

I sat, thinking and humming along to the next track on the album. “I’m the son of rage and love.” I said to myself. It was as if I needed to be reminded of who I was, and this album always did the job. With all the time I spent alone here at that place, you would think that I’d know that by now, but there are just too many days when the thoughts fail to form inside of my mind, days when everything seems just out of my mental reach. It’s been like this for so long that I have given up on trying to snap myself out of it.

I stood to gather the water testing materials. Guards are often required to test the chlorine and Ph levels of the pools that we are stationed at. It had become a mindless task, like taking a shower, or brushing my teeth. As I dipped my left hand into the cool water I began to question whether or not this job was actually worth it. Yes, it may have been the easiest job that I’ve ever done, but it felt like a waste of time. Eight dollars and twenty five cents an hour never felt so pointless. I reminded myself that I’m just there to make money. That’s what I tell myself every time I question my . But now it just seems like the money isn’t worth it. Forty hours a week, plus overtime. No, it wasn’t worth it. I should be off somewhere with my friends, enjoying the beautiful season of summer, but no, I had become a slave to money. As time slowly crept past 7pm, the thoughts of everything I would rather be doing found their way into my mind: sleeping, enjoying friends, running, my guitar. I could have spent the summer playing guitar, feeling elated the way I did when I played my way through my first chord progression. I vowed to myself that I would not let next summer be as much of a waste as this one had been. After next summer, I want to have fun memories and good times to nostalgically look back on. I think back to the times of excitement and joy. Two feelings that I wish that I had right now.



Advanced Essay #1: The Beauty in an Imperfect Life

Posted by Lewis Ford in English 3 - Block - D on

In this piece, my goal was to portray the beauty behind living an imperfect life. Everyone has times where they feel like life gets hard. What separates people is how they react to these set-backs. My main character, Lewis, writes in his journal about his everyday struggles in an attempt to turn them into fuel which ignites him to keep pushing forward in life.






                                                            Reflection on December 31st, 1999

       Current date: January 12th, 2000                                                                        Journal #1        

As I sat in the backyard, I couldn’t fathom what I was reading. My eyes were glued to the hero-like photo of me in the daily newspaper. “Wow” was the only complete english word I could form my lips to say. Was my hard work and dedication beginning to catapult my family and I directly into a life of endless luxury?I felt that the universe was finally speaking back to me with this news article. Those expressive journalist inked the newspaper beside my picture with phrases like “athletically gifted” and “tenacious on both sides of the ball” . In response to this, I felt that I needed to concentrate on living a more focused and positive lifestyle! I decided to start a journal to record my eating habits and things that were constantly on my mind. This happens to be my first entry. My ambitious goal included drinking all water and staying on a strict diet! No candy, chips, soda, or life-shortening fast food!  After an hour of giving the newspaper undisrupted attention, I  laid back on my mattress and plastered my eyes on the walls. The walls were filled with photos of Allen Iverson and Yao Ming. Soon my picture would be up on millions of kids walls too.

                                                     

                                                                                    To new beginnings...


                                                                                Update on my current life

                                    June 25th, 2000

                                                                                     Journal #2


It’s been awhile since I’ve written… I haven’t been being discipline lately. Just this past week, I’ve indulged in two cheesesteaks, four sodas, three cakes and three bag of chips… I haven’t been feeling too good mentally as of lately. Consistency is something I’m having a hard time becoming associated with. It’s almost like a butterfly. It always seems so easy to catch but as soon as I reach out to touch it, it flutters away slowly giving me enough time to reminisce on the opportunities it would’ve presented for me. The far-fetched “no candy, chips, or soda” mentality lasted two days. On top of that, my brother got shot. I told him to stay out of the streets! It’s a trap! The streets are a black hole. It’ll suck you in if you get too close to it!  I know he takes our dad not being in our life hard and feels as if he has to take desperate measures to provide but damn! He can’t use that as an excuse. I hope this is enough for him to leave this relationship he has formed…It’s a disease that I could see was starting to affect his thought process. As for me, I have to focus on my craft more! I’m slacking terribly. Devastatingly enough, I am only averaging 15 points when I was averaging 23 during last season. College scouts have stopped showing interest in attending my games. Oh yeah, and that melanin goddess, Keisha! Lord have mercy she is beautiful. But I know she’s only here for the ride and a chance to get a piece of the pie. But this pie I had in mind was strictly for my mom and brother to eat. It’s time to get focused! As of right now, I’m going to go sit in the ICU room with my brother. It’s so quiet in there but the air is thick because it’s filled with thoughts of my brother possibly not making it...

                                      

                                                                   Be more than exceptional, Lewis.


                                                                   The copying of my father’s letter

   August 13th, 2000

                                                                                                      Journal #3


Hey kid. I don’t really know how to start this letter. I know we’ve never met but I don’t want that to stop us from bonding and building now. I’ve seen you in newspapers lately. I’m really proud of you. I know you’re probably wondering why I have never been in you or your brothers life. I… I… I had other things to focus on. My life was a broken jigsaw puzzle that I didn’t want to piece together. I wasn’t fit to be a father. I didn’t want to risk not being able to provide for you guys. I thought it’d be better for me to just leave instead of adding two more jigsaw pieces to my life that wouldn’t fit in. I know now that that was a parsimonious decision. That’s why I’m writing you now. I hope to hear from you soon kid. I love you…

                                                                 Your dad.




                     Response to my dad’s letter

      August 27th, 2000

                                                                                                         Journal #4


You have some nerve. You write me asking if we could BUILD a relationship between us?! I guess you read about the sneaker deal I signed with Under Armour and that I committed to the University of Kentucky too. Now all of a sudden, you want to be a dad. You’re pathetic. Catch me on T.V.  putting on for my mom and brother.

                                     Enjoy your life.


                                                                                                   





                                                                                                              Reflection on Life

                                                                                 September 4th, 2000

                                                                                                   Journal #5


My growth has been tremendous. I’ve been meditating, eating well and helping my mom out with the bills. My brother broke off his relationship with the streets. Now he’s my manager.  Life is going great. I leave for college tomorrow morning. I’m so excited! Over the past 9 months, life has taught me that no matter how hard punches are thrown at you, you always bounce back with a stronger game plan to lessen the impact of those blows. This is the cycle of life. Laurie Notaro, an American writer, once said “If you really believe in what you're doing, work hard, take nothing personally and if something blocks one route, find another. Never give up.” Once I realized that my problems were actually greater than just a road block, I started to connect them to my success today.This is the simple formula for flourishing in life. Despite my brother having history with drug dealing, us growing up in poverty, my dad not being in my life and me struggling with consistency, I still push forward in life to better my families future.


                                                       Thank you for the motivation, Universe!

Advanced Essay #1: Living a Meaningful Life

Posted by Isabel Medlock in English 3 - Block - D on

​My goals while writing this essay was to convey my desire to do something amazing and my wish to change the world. I also wanted to explain my opinion on the need to leave behind a legacy. I think the beginning of my essay with the memory of the Colosseum was done well. I also think I did a good job of wrapping up my ideas and my essay in the conclusion. I wish I had used more personal memories and scenes of memories. I wish I could add more about how the larger ideas connected to myself.


I looked in excitement all around me as I walked through the Colosseum. After waiting outside in the sun for what seemed like forever being able to finally see the inside of this magnificent structure and touch its ancient stone walls was exhilarating. I knew that thousands of years ago this arena was standing almost exactly like it was standing today, except much newer and less crumbly, but it was almost impossible to truly believe. I imagined that maybe once when there still were Roman events in this colosseum a girl my age stood right where I stood, touched the same spots that I touched, and marveled at this incredible creation. Knowing that this building had been in contact with so many millions of lives before mine and probably millions of lives after mine made me feel amazed but at the same time a little overwhelmed. Seeing something thousands of years old is thrilling and disheartening. You feel wonder and excitement at seeing something so ancient, so important, and so magnificent but at the same time you feel saddened at the thought that although people remember the name of this thing that is thousands of years old, in less that two hundred years it is very likely no one will remember your name.


During my travels I have seen many things that will be remembered for hundreds, thousands of years to come; including the Mona Lisa, the Sistine Chapel, the Eiffel Tower and the David. All of these things will forever ensure that people recognize the names of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Not only will their names be remembered and revered but their work will impact people for thousands of years; their work will amaze people for thousands of years. Maybe sometime in the future their names will be forgotten but if the people of the future ever come across the beautiful things these people left behind they will know that they have discovered not just something beautiful and aesthetically pleasing but also something meaningful. Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Alexandre Eiffel all did something that impacted the entire world. They did things that mattered.


Almost my entire life I’ve wanted to do something that mattered. Not something that just matters to me or just me but something that affects the entire world or nearly the entire world. I want to do something that ensures my name and actions are remembered for thousands of years or at least the next hundred years. When you’re young it’s easy to have big goals and boundless ambition. It’s easy to delude yourself into thinking that you could be someone who changes the world. The reality is that most people go through their entire lives without ever doing something special or unique. After thousands of years it’s hard for someone to think of an original, unique thought and it’s hard to be someone who hasn’t already existed before. Most things worth saying have already been said and most ideas worth thinking of have already been thought of. So, it becomes increasingly difficult for one to do something that is new and important, much less change the world forever. Most people live ordinary lives doing the same jobs that others have done millions of times before and having the same conversations others have had thousands of times before. Sometimes we like to pretend that we are all unique and different but we are lying to ourselves. Most likely there have been others almost exactly like us in the past or maybe in the present. This just makes me want to do something amazing and unforgettable even more. It’s hard to do something original and important but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. We should never stop helping others and we should never stop trying to do what we love because that is how we can change the world and make an impact.

Sometimes I feel like it’s silly to want to do something more than the ordinary. Sometimes I feel guilty for not being satisfied with my life. I wonder if I should just be happy with what I have instead of constantly wishing for and wanting more. But then I realize that if people were always just satisfied with what they already had the world wouldn’t get anywhere. If Leonardo da Vinci had just been satisfied with a simple life instead of an ambitious life where he got to do what he loved the world would be much different today. Ambition and goals are essential not only to the advancement of ourselves but also to the advancement of the world. So I will never give up on trying to do something special because that is the only way the world will get better. Not only is ambition and the desire to leave behind a legacy essential to the advancement of the world but necessary for people need to feel happy. Working to leave a legacy gives us a sense of meaning and purpose which is something urgently need. We have spent thousands of years trying to find a reason for our existence and find validation for ourselves. We have religions and different beliefs that we have created in an attempt to find meaning but it is not enough. That is why we desperately want to leave behind a legacy and be admired by those who will come after us, to validate ourselves and our existence and to find a purpose in a meaningless and purposeless universe.

Advanced Essay #1: Just My Memories

Posted by Katarina Backo in English 3 - Block - D on

In this essay my goals were to put in words the relationship I have with my mom. I think I did well in putting my memories down and reflecting on each of them. I would like to improve the way I express myself.



The flowers that had no scent, and yet they amused me every morning. Their petals were not perfect, all different sizes and most covered with holes from bug bites. They were taller then me, then up to my waist, and that was a way I remember growing taller. To other people they weren't really pretty, but to me they were special. Every day I would look at them when I came to visit my grandparents. Every time I played in the yard, I would glance at the flowers every once in awhile. There was no special reason, it was more like they were magnets to my eyes. One day when I came the flowers were all gone. When I asked my grandma about them she said: “Oh those, I had no time to take care of them so they all died. Plus it’s not like anyone liked them anyway. ” And it was true, not even I could say that I particularly liked them. They were there and I was comfortable with that. They blocked the sunlight from getting in my eyes when I sat on the front steps. They made fun looking shadows in the moonlight.

I looked at the dirt that was piled where they used to be, and accepted them as a good childhood memory. It’s funny how we remember small things like that, but will never be able to remember all the important things. Not because we don’t want to, but our minds play tricks with our memory. I remember my first day of school, but not my last day of kindergarten. I remember the first time I went to a dance class, but not my first competition. But not all the things I remember from that time were good.

It was the night before Christmas and my mom was making a special dinner. I was in my room, I was 9 at the time, on the phone with a family friend. Then, out of nowhere I heard a loud bang sound. I tell the friend that I have to go and run out of my room. I walk through the living room and see a giant burn on the open door of the kitchen. When I walked in I say my mum on the floor crying with completely burnt hands. They were completely black and to relieve her of the pain she put them in a pot of cold milk, as told to by my grandma over the phone. They then went to the hospital and left me at the house to eat. I couldn’t sleep later, my mom’s pained expression circling my mind. My mom had to get most of the skin that got burned removed and wore a cast for a few months.

It hurt me seeing my mom's pain through my childhood, but that night, I matured a little more then I realized at the time. I realized that I began to feel her pain. The look she gave me, trying to assure me that she will be fine, I could see through that act. Her eyes, as blue as the sky, my favorite color, the color I always wanted mine to be. I think we had those moments because I was her only child at the time, these looks were passed back and forth before. She got surgery on her left ear when I was 7, hit by  a motorcycle when I was ten and 5 miscarriages through a few years. These made me even more mature for my age. That is probably the reason I took care of her and she took care of me. We always told each other everything, so we understood each other better than anyone else.   

I remember that when I found out I had dyslexia and dysgraphia, she was one of the only people who didn’t judge me, even tough learning disabilities are very rare in Serbia, and most times looked down on. When I was little I had bad asthma, for almost 2 years I was constantly sick. I would go to the doctors and lay in bed most of the time. She worked every weekday, from morning to night and still found time to take care of me. I even remember her buying me little presents, to help me stop my bad habits of biting my nails. Every week I went without biting them, I would get a cute bag with a present inside.

My childhood is a braid of memories, all that tangle into who I am, and my mom is the biggest part of that. Just like those flowers with no scent, she is not perfect, but she is special and dear to me. I think she is the best mom ever.

Advanced Essay #1: Stuck In The System

Posted by Pedro Castillo in English 3 - Block - D on


The purpose of this paper is to tell the world my story about one of the things I love most. There is also a deeper message though. My message to this world is that if you put all your effort into something, it will happen because in a career, you only get out as much as you put in. I believe that in this piece, I did well with making my stories relevant and connecting them with my main message. That was my main goal, to give my message to the world through my stories. I want people to feel motivated to do something after reading this. If I could improve it any way, I would try and make the reader feel emotionally connected with my piece.





  Stuck In The System


Success is something that is earned, it not given, nor is it something that you can take. Since I could remember, I’ve wondered what I would become in the future. It scared me to think about myself having no success, no money, no life. The people of this forsaken planet are stuck in a system put in effect by all major governments. People are supposed to work their lives away but they don’t. Instead, in this generation, they would rather spend their time judging others, judging the ones who decide to work hard and not live in this system...judging the ones who are different and not afraid to be themselves. I call these people with no fear “creatives”.


For half of my life, I was the kid who was consumed by fear. “Gay.” That’s what people used to call me for having a passion for the thing I love most, fashion. I was so badly eaten alive by this fear and shyness that I let people around me stop me from being myself. There were so many hateful comments and phrases that people used to tell just because of what I loved. All the comments started to catch up to me, they began to mess with my mind. To this day I still cannot believe that I let the comments of other people stop me from being connected with one of things I love most in this world. “You’re gay as f*ck for that” they said as my fear was holding me back from replying. I’m not gay and I felt like I had to prove that to them. That day I decided that I would “stop loving fashion”. Instead I would do all the wrong things. I decided that I would dress like the drug dealers because that’s what “my friends” were doing...that is what all the promiscuous young females (who honestly were just hood rats) loved. I would start getting into trouble because that’s what “my friends” were doing and we can’t forget that the females loved the bad boys. When I look back at this, I realize how stupid and immature I was for letting them control my mind with their opinions. Today in society people are bound by a curse called acceptance and it is something I despise more than anything. Everyone is scared to be themselves because they are scared of others will think and I actually used to be one of those people. After five minutes of sitting at the lunch table thinking about what just happened and I turned towards all the kids who called me gay for loving fashion and the industry. I remember this perfectly... “I have nothing against gay people but I’m not gay so don’t call me that. And I love fashion and there’s nothing that you can do about it. Just because I walk in with expensive clothing designed by people whose names you can’t pronounce does not mean you can call me gay. I am my own person and no one is going to change that so why don’t you go somewhere and follow the path that Tone followed and you’ll end up a broke piece of sh*t like him, living with your grandma and selling ‘bud’ on the corner.” Their facial expressions were priceless, and they were as speechless as the teacher standing right behind me who later called my mother telling her that I was cursing at other students.


That day was so very rewarding for me. In the years that came I started letting go of all the fear that was locked inside me. I became a person who was not afraid to be themselves and once that happened I was able to focus on the thing I love most. I put 100% of my time into perfecting my craft and networking in order to begin my career. Finally, everything in my life began to go down a good path after I met Justin Carson. Justin is a creative director for the well known pop culture channel, BET! With him mentoring me I was able to meet famous stylists in the industry and I was able to network with the directors of Philadelphia and New York Fashion Week. I thought about how big this was and how I ran with all the opportunities I received. Philadelphia Fashion Week was one of the more memorable experiences. I could not remember what time I left the house. This was all new to me, I was a shy sixteen year old boy from Northeast Philadelphia. Always working on my grades, that was the top priority for me at the time. But Fashion Week was different, that was my time. I remember getting into my Lyft at 3:30 in the morning. I stood waiting for him for a while but when he was near I knew it was him because he was the only person driving on the road at that time. “Yo man, what’s up?” he said in his Indian accent. “Yo D, I’m cool man how about you?” I replied. D had serviced me throughout Fashion Week, we were practically best friends. “Same place?” he asked. I replied with an excited “Yeah man!” “Kanye West right?” he asked. I laughed and replied with a simple “Yes.”  Kanye West is my role model...he is one of the main reasons why I was inspired to just be myself and put one hundred percent of my time on what I loved. As we made our way to the city, I thought to myself…about my past and how far I advanced throughout my life. Then I could do nothing but smirk when I thought about myself, a boy who turned sixteen less than four months ago is working with the directors of Fashion Week and less than a two months ago was working with a creative director of BET. I thought about how precious of a thing life is and all the opportunities that people get and don’t take. I love those type of people, they make my life easier. At that moment I knew how dedicated I was to the fashion industry. I was going to take all these opportunities and run with them until I am making $10,000+ a month, until I am living a carefree life with a job that I love doing so much that I don’t even consider it a job, but more of a lifestyle. I understood at that moment that my life was going to change and there was no one in the world who could crush my ambition. I became a new person, I became the rockstar that I imagined I would become all of my life and best part of all, I knew that I was an ambitious creative that was no longer ‘stuck in the system’. I was free.


Advanced Essay: A bad Memory

Posted by Aissatou Bah in English 3 - Block - D on

Intro:  Is it possible to hate the feeling of love? Why can’t we just be with the people that makes us happy? My goal with this paper was to just go all out and not be afraid to write what I feel. I feel that I did well with description, and focusing on a larger issues for many people in the world. I feel that added to my scenes.

A Bad Memory.

In hopes of gaining more knowledge you try to understand a variety of things and why they matter to you especially. You try to understand why there are memories you put an effort in forgetting and decisions you wish you could erase. You dab at making sense of things that have always been complicated in your eyes. I can’t come to acknowledge the fact that I have put myself in such a position, a position of self-destruction. As I pace back and forth in this large, cold room, I feel goosebumps crawling up my spine as I was disgusted by the actions I have taking to solving my problems. I plan on leaving this world for the better. What other choice is there?

At a young age, we are always reminded that soon we shall meet our prince charming, so we should safeguard ourselves. However, once the time has come they make it impossible for you to keep your happiness. Now I feel beads of sweat on my forehead, and the shaking of my hands I can no longer control. Had I known I would be in such pain, I would have tried harder to control my love.

I have falling in love with a man. I never understood the saying “love hurts” because I found those words foolish. How can love hurt, when love is supposed to make you content? I have come to realize that the saying indeed is true and it’s me who is foolish. I had all my hope up, I would dream of the day him and I would live happily ever after. However, my family has snatched away our happily ever after. They have refused the man that I love because of where he is from. I tried to explain that love doesn’t have an age, a race or a gender. Nonetheless, once the heart is filled with ignorance, it will always be difficult to see two sides.

In this same room he came with respect, to ask for my hand in marriage. That was were I went wrong. We should have ran away together, like I suggested. He wanted to get my fathers blessings. We had planed to see how this day would turn about, and I have giving up on making the ignorant understand that I am just a young girl who is in love with a man. A humbled and honored man who has a different culture than I do. This is a day I would try so hard to forget but I won’t be able to.

Father- “You’re a man of a different background than Aissatou.”

Lover- “I love Aissatou so I will learn what she knows.”

Father- “Culture and tradition is something you grow up around not something you learn from just a simple explanation.”

Lover- “I will love her till the end, and live the way she wants us to live, with your culture.”

While these words are being exchanged, neither my father nor my lover is backing down I found something to focus on. I had to free myself of this debate. Something that reminds me it’s not the end of the world though I am heartbroken. I stare at the shahada frame. I stare at it not comprehending what it was for a few minutes. I observe it’s gold edges and gold writing. The writing is in English and Arabic. The Arabic letters are bigger and they are on top. The English letters are medium sized and they are on the bottom. The rest of the image is the color burgundy. There is also a gold line surrounding the words. Everything about the image is shiny and polished. The Arabic words have vowels on top or under the letter, which are smaller than the letters. I feel my eyes blur with tears, but I will not shed any. No one deserves to see me in such a vulnerable state. Than I am shocked at the words I hear next.

Lover- Why can’t you just let your daughter be happy? Your so stuck on culture and what people think of you, that you don’t even think or care about how she feels.

Father- Can’t she think about her family? She is being ungrateful and she only thinks about herself.

Me- Dad?

Father- Leave my house now! The audacity to come into my home and disrespecting my cultural beliefs.

Lover- Please sir, try to understand.  

Father- There is nothing to understand, please leave.

My lover stares at me and I look away because the longer he looks at me the more I think of leaving with him. I look away and stare back at the shahada frame, the only thing that is keeping me sane. He leaves and my dad walks to his room. I am still lost in this frame as I realize how heavy it looks to me today. As if it’s also feeling my sorrow. The gold edges have small silver crystals around it. The English and Arabic words have glitter inside of them. The English words are translating what the Arabic words mean. I stand up and touch the frame. The meaning now stands out the me. I learned that I can’t be with the man I have falling in love with.






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