Fences

The play "Fences", by August Wilson, took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1965. During that time, the Civil Rights Movement was happening, along with the Vietnam War, Television, and upcoming black athletes.

Race Post

It seems like even though America has passed the times of slavery and racial inequalities, there is still some slight racial problems looming around. The problem is not as broad as it once was several decades ago but it is still an issue. Many of the youth in today's age have been taught by outside influences or even their own family members that people act a certain way based on their race. Also, genders experience racism differently. It is harder to be a Black or Latina female in America  than to be a White female.

Kids in today's age are taught that Black people act this way, Spanish people act that way, White people act another way, and so on. After being told this from an early age, they grow up thinking they MUST act that way; that acting that way is normal. The children are taught that being white is better than being anything else. In the past, there was a experiment where a few children of a variety of races were asked to chose between a white baby doll and a black baby doll. The shocking results of the experiment was that most of the children picked the white doll just because it was white. This shows the corruption instilled in the minds of the children by the influence around them.

Just like how extreme racism existed in the past, there was also an extreme prejudgment towards women that were not White. Back in those days, it was hard enough to be a woman because they did not have a say in much. Being a woman of color was even worse: apart from not having a say, they also got abused, ignored, and were deeply hated. In today's age, it is more accepted to be a woman of color but there are still some little disadvantages. There was an experiment that a women made where you set up two accounts on a job search site. Both accounts had her real information but one account had a picture of her while the other account had a picture of a white lady. The account with the picture of the white woman received calls from several businesses, some times even multiple times from one business, while the account with her real pictures did not receive any calls...

Racism is not an instinct; it is something that is taught. Young children are taught that it is better to be white than it is to be any other race. Those children grow up with that mindset and enter adulthood with a slight preference for whites. Even though those times of inequality is over, there is still a slight presence of it. This is the effect from those who just can't let the past go. Those whites who are stuck on feeling superior in a world that is "equal".

Think Different (Part 2)

People generally react to others who are willing to step outside the box of normalcy and behave in a way that is considered unconventional or unacceptable just like the general population of people would react to something new; some will like it and some will not. For example, with Martin Luther King Jr., some people liked what he was doing but most did not because it was something new and people hate to see change.

It was so important for Don Haskins to think different because his thinking had potential to change the game of basketball. He was the only person during his time to have that many black players on his basketball team at that time. After him, other teams started to recruit blacks because they believed they were good players.

Another example of thinking different is Atticus Finch from the book "To Kill a Mockingbird". He was a man that defended a black man in court when no one else was going to. Just like Don Haskins, he did not look at the color of skin and believed everyone deserved equal rights.

Conquering World 8

"Dammit Mario!" Brandon exclaimed as he dragged out the cuss with such annoyance, "When did this game become so difficult?!" For the past 2 and a half hours Brandon has been trying to beat world 8 in Super Mario Bros. He recently found this ancient relic while cleaning the attic out because his mom told him to. When he found the game he stopped everything he was doing and decided to try and beat the game again. He breezed through the first 7 worlds with minimal struggle but world 8 was a whole new world; literally!

Brandon was just an average 16 year old teen that just wanted to have a fun nostalgic Sunday night but it turned out to be anything but fun after long. The frustration darkened his yellow face to red as he brows furrowed with the intensity of his focused mind. His wide hands smothered the small Gamecube controller as his long fingers scavenged for the buttons only to softly tap them to make Mario jump or run for a quick second. He hunched his long, lanky body over and rested his elbows on his knees to prop his body into position. He sat on the edge of his bed to the point where it looked like he was about to fall any second but in actuality he was rather comfortable.

"Forget you Mario! I like Luigi better anyways!" His deep voice rumbled, "Matter of fact; I'm gonna use him right now." He pressed the "Start" button in the middle of the control and moved the analog stick down to the "Character Selection" option and pressed the "A" button. He moved the analog stick to the right once so the cursor was pointing to his main man, Luigi, before pressing "A" again to make Luigi do a little swirling dance before jumping into the action.

"Alright, alright, alright! I got this now," he said with a confident smile on his face and a more relaxed body position.

In the game, Luigi hopped onto a platform surrounded by lava. Under Brandon's control, he ran to right and jumped on a move float that moved front and back. Brandon had to make Luigi jump at the right time so he can continue forward and won't fall into his digital fiery death. Brandon moved a half second too late and that's exactly what happened. Brandon exclaimed in rage, "O-M-G!" while his mouth held on to the G, slowly letting it all roll out.

"I'm so ready to give up" He said to himself in a low, defeated tone. He tapped the "Start" button and scrolled down to the "Quit" option. The cursor hovered over the bottom of the "u" in "Quit" as Brandon contemplated if this is really what he wanted to do. He thought about him ever giving up and recalled that quitting was a thing he didn't do. He said, "Naaaahhhh" and pressed the "B" button, right next to the "A" button to go back to the game and try again.

"Alright, I only have 5 lives left. I need to make them count." while starting another game. "Work with me Luigi." he continued. He played with intense focus; more focus than he uses in school. This focus helped him achieve more than he has ever achieved with Mario. Even with all this focus, it was still not even to beat the level.

He let out a sigh of impatience as he went again, this time with more focus than the last game. He hopped, and ran, and jumped, and swirled, and everything in between. Through all his effort, he reached the final part of the level and paused the game to catch himself. He set the controller down next to him so he could whip his clammy hands on his sweat pants to dry them off before picking up the controller again.

He unpaused the game and proceeded the rest of the game with caution. There was only a few seconds left on the game clock so he had to pick up the pace. There was no time to dwindle and proceed with caution. He hastily made Luigi hop, and run, and jump, and swirl, and everything in between until he reached the flag.

"Finally conquered world 8! Now I can go to sleep" Brandon said as he ran to press the power button and turn off the system, totally unaware that the game did not save his progress... Oh well.

Love is (kinda) in the Air...

Valentine's day is a day adored by teen girls who do mot even know the origin of the day. To solve that problem I would like to explain where it came from:

Valentine was a priest who lived during the third century in Rome. During that time, Emperor Claudius II was fighting a war and decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families so he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine saw this injustice and defied Claudius by continuing to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Claudius discovered Valentine's actions, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Another Story tells of Valentine being killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured.  According a legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is said that he wrote her a letter signed, "From your Valentine", which is where teens got it from

Valentines day was not really an official "thing" until  the 1400s. European Emperors and Rulers said it was but no one really paid it any mind. People believe February 14th was just the day that birds began their mating but as time carried on, people too started.... "mating" on that day.

Now a days people date and mate just to do it and end up separating soon after. My advice to people that want to be in a relationship is don't do it if you're not 110% sure about the person. If you have doubts about anything that has to deal with your relationship than it probably will not last and you end up wasting your time. It's better of to be single anyways. You get more freedom, more options, and you save money since you don't have to spend it on a person! Also, Single doesn't always mean lonely...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Be safe..

Days of the Week

Personification is an amazing thing. It has the power to make anything come to life. LITERALLY! To personify something means to give an inanimate object lively qualities. For example: the rock sat as still as a couch potato. In that example the inanimate object was the rock ad the living object it was being compared to was the coach potato.
To help explain, here is an example that personifies the days of the week as a type of person.

 Sundays

Sunday is a lazy, relaxed person. Sunday is the type that barely does anything and doesn't care. They only care about relaxing. They would much rather do that then go out and party. Once in a while they might go out with friends and have a little hang out but nothing too serious because they know they have work the next day.

Mondays

Monday is that person you can’t stand. Monday would be that person that would bother you when you are trying to relax. They require so much energy from you that you do not have within. When Monday comes around you just want to die.

Tuesdays

Tuesdays are people that are moody. One week they are fun and the next they can be boring or annoying. It all depends on the people you're with when Tuesday comes around. If lively people are around then you will have a nice time but if boring people are around then you would be boring.

Wednesdays

Wednesdays are normal people. There is nothing extra ordinary about them. Wednesday is that person in your life that is just there to be there. They do nothing to benefit you but also do not hinder you from anything. Although, from time to time they might do something that catches your attention but that may only last a second or two.

Thursdays

Thursday is that guy in the background. Thursday is that lowkey fun guy that comes out of the shadow when there is a good time going on and just makes everything better than what it was. When things are not fun then Thursday just goes with the flow and blends in with everyone else.

Fridays

Friday is a happy person. Friday is that type of person that would be in a good mood 96% of the time. The other 4% would be a regular mood. There is  no such thing as a "bad mood" for Friday. Friday tends to try it's best to make people happy by giving others a great outlook on the weekend to come.

Saturdays!!!!!

Saturday is just an overly excited person. Saturday is that person that also seems to be rigged on caffeine and sugar. They like to party and go out and have fun. Whenever there is a party, Saturday knows about it. There is rarely a dull moment in their life.

Simile and Metaphor

Similes and metaphors are closely related types of figurative language. Both are used to compare one object to another. Their only difference is that simile requires you to use "like" or "as" to compare where as a metaphor you do not use "like" or "as".
The dictionary definition of Simile is, "A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by 'like' or 'as'" and the dictionary definition of metaphor is, "a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them".
Similes and metaphors are very important components of figurative language. It is used to add power to a sentence.
For example, look at the following two sentences: "the man was small", "The man was as small as an ant". Obviously the second sentence was better. Similes metaphors add more description to a piece of literature to help you understand more.

Here are 2 more examples. The first poem is an example of simile and the second poem is an example of a metaphor. The examples are highlighted to help show you where they are.

Flint

An emerald is as green as grass,

A ruby red as blood;

A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;

A flint lies in the mud.

A diamond is a brilliant stone,

To catch the world's desire;

An opal holds a fiery spark;

But a flint holds a fire.

Christina Rossetti 

 Simile

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

"I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me."

                                                                       Emily Dickinson

Metaphor