And Still We Rise Assignment 3

I never grew up in poverty, nor have I been moved through an infinite number of foster homes. I never had abusive parents. I never had to live on my own and support myself. But still, even in my relatively prosperous life, I challenge myself in school and extracurricular activities outside school. Somehow I balance all these things in my life and come out pretty successful in all that I do. Because of this, I would have to say that my talent is dedication.

Usually seniors in high school like to take cruise classes to just “enjoy” their last year. I almost did that this year, but suddenly changed my mind. I decided to four core classes—including AP English, AP Psychology, Trigonometry and Human Physiology—even though it’s not required to take a math or science. I’m also in Newswriting (which is basically like a job but without getting paid with all the before school and after school hours it requires).

But I do have a job now to try and offset all the spending I do when I go out or when I buy clothes and whatnot. And though I still do live with my parents, my mom has started making me pay for my own necessities, like toothpaste and shampoo and shaving cream, etc. Usually I work eight hour shifts on the weekends or if I work on the weekdays, I don’t get home until almost ten. Then I still have to do my homework, but usually I try to get it done early so I don’t have to worry about it since work makes me tired.

Another activity that makes me tired is soccer. And though the season is only two-three months long, we have practice everyday and games twice a week and our only rest day is Sunday. But then I work on Sundays so I never really have a rest day.

So far this winter, I’ve been extremely exhausted. With school, work, soccer, and even college stuff now, I feel like I never have enough time for anything. But I do have dedication to everything I do. I dedicate myself to school because I’ve never known myself to fail in anything, and I wasn’t about to start now. Plus I’m part of the school newspaper and failing in that is unacceptable because I’m affecting 2000-plus people. I’m dedicated to work because I actually like what I do and I don’t want to let my co-workers down. They’re like my friends now and I don’t want to be a disappointment. And obviously, I don’t want to get fired and lose my job. Getting a job is pretty hard these days with such a tough economy. I’m dedicated to soccer because it’s my outlet for stress since I get to run around. Plus I have fun with the girls and I don’t get fat because of the constant exercise.

My “talent” is pretty similar to Miesha’s. I guess I could say I persevere too. Sometimes I feel like quitting because I get so tired and I just want to rest and have time for myself. But I know if I can handle all of this now, I can definitely handle college and a career later on in life when I want to have a family and everything. I know life will never be easy. That’s why I make sure I can handle the challenges it throws at me now.

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I think Jesus’ point is that if you have a talent, don’t let it go to waste. It’s clearly shown because the master was satisfied that the first two servants used the gold for something useful and he was mad when the third one just buries it the ground and wastes it.

It connects to Miesha because she used her talent of perseverance to succeed and get ahead. Even though she faced domestic hardships, she didn’t let that affect her schoolwork and her desire to accomplish something great. She realized that she was blessed with a gift that not too many kids in the South Central have, and she didn’t want to put it to waste. She has an opportunity to be something, unlike many of her peers, and she won’t bury it in the ground.

It also connects to me because I guess I’m blessed with the ability to be dedicated and work hard in whatever I do. I’m not a gifted genius, so I do have to put in the time and effort. My drive to succeed makes me want to work hard and I don’t want to fail. Mililani is full of gifted students, and I’d like to believe that I am one of those students. We’re all given “gold” like in Jesus’ story, and I’m not going to be the one to bury it in the fields to waste it. Like Miesha, I want to succeed in life, so I’ll do what it takes to get ahead.

The story works on more than one level because there’s the superficial lesson that if you’re given gold, be wise and spend it, not put it the ground where it’ll be of no use to anyone. Then there’s the deeper level where Jesus is really trying to say that if you’re given a talent, you don’t waste it so that it won’t be of any use to anyone. Not everyone is blessed with a talent, and it’d be a shame if it gets buried in the ground.

English Prompt 1: Symbolism

Obasan is a novel written by Joy Kogawa that tells the story of a Japanese family experiencing internment in Canada during World War II. The narrator is Naomi Nakane, who was only a little girl during this time. In the present, Naomi gets a call that her uncle has passed away, so she returns to Granton, where her old aunt, Obasan, now lives alone. Returning to the house reveals a lot of suppressed memories from Naomi herself and other shocking revelations. The whole plot can relate back to Obasan’s house, as it is symbolic of several aspects: Obasan herself, memories of the suffering from the internment, and closure for questions from the internment.

Obasan’s house is old and cluttered and full of lots of junk, when looked at by an outsider. But Naomi describes every little object as being “right in its place” at Obasan’s house. Everything had its meaning, “Every homemade piece of furniture, each pot holder and paper doily is a link in her lifeline.” All these objects are memories for Obasan, who is very old and knows her time is limited. These memories are significant to her because they represent the painful past that she and her family endured during the internment in World War II.

The house also brings up memories, against Naomi’s will. When she sees a family photo taken before she was born, she looks at her mother, whom she barely knew, and wonders what ever happened to her since she went to Japan to help Naomi’s grandmother. Also at the house, Obasan gives Naomi a parcel from her Aunt Emily, filled with a journal and other written documents. The journal helps Naomi fill in the missing pieces of what happened during the internment because she was only just a small child and didn’t understand much.

Since Uncle’s death, Aunt Emily and Naomi’s brother Stephen also came by to Obasan’s house. It was almost like a reunion. When they were all together again, Naomi was presented with letters from her Grandma Kato in Japan, whom her mother went up there to help out. From these letters, Naomi finally discovered that her mother was badly disfigured from the atomic bombing, then later died from the radiation. Although not the best news Naomi would want to hear, she finally found closure to all the wondering she did throughout her childhood.

And Still We Rise Assignment 2

After reading the book review, I expect my experience and feelings to be similar to that of Welch’s. Like him, I live in a relatively affluent neighborhood. Although living in Hawaii provides me the advantage of living amongst different races and ethnicities, I am ignorant in the fact that I have not experienced hardship or discrimination or anything of the sort. I think that when I read the book and I see all the unimaginable hardships that teenagers, the same age as me, have to go through to survive, I’ll feel extremely sympathetic, but sorry that I can’t connect on a deeper level because I have not experienced anything near what those seniors go through.

I also think I’ll learn to better appreciate my education and what kind of life has been given to me. Like Welch, I’d put myself in their shoes and see if I’d be able to survive, but truthfully, I know I wouldn’t. I live in a non-abusive home where I am fortunate to have both my parents who both have steady jobs and they provide for me so I can focus my priorities on school and other extracurricular activities I have the opportunity to engage in. To imagine a life where I struggle to excel in school, let alone even afford to attend school, is hard because my life is virtually at the other end of the spectrum from the lives of South-Central students.

Before, I would listen to friends recommending books to me. They wouldn’t give a detail description like Welch. But if they said, “Yeah it was really good, I really liked it,” I would check out the book for myself. I figured that if my friend liked it, whom I had similar interests with, I would like the book as well.

I usually don’t read book reviews before buying a book, but after reading a book review like this one, I should probably start. If I read this review and if I wasn’t assigned to read the book, I probably would pick it up, just because Welch made me feel like I could connect, somehow, to this book. I can’t wait to finish reading the book and I hope I can feel close to what Welch felt—better understanding the lives of other people. The review made the book sound like a real eye-opener and I can’t wait to see what the end is like.

And Still We Rise Assignment 1

In comparison to Mililani High School, Crenshaw High School is completely different. The two schools totally contrast each other in terms of the community and neighborhood around the schools, the students and the teachers of the schools.

The community and the neighborhood of Crenshaw High School is a ghetto where gangbanging, tagging, shootings, stabbings and other crimes are common. Mililani is much too young of a community to be considered “ghetto.” There are fairly new houses and new families growing up, and hardly any crimes go on in the streets of Mililani. In Mililani, you don’t see gang members walking the streets and throwing up their gang signs then pulling out a gun and pursuing the death of a rival gang member, like what happened to Sadikifu and his homie.

The students of Mililani are a lot different from Crenshaw because at Crenshaw, the dropout rate is 50%, which is nowhere near Mililani. Virtually everyone strives to graduate but at Crenshaw, no one cares. Everyday is a matter of survival for the Crenshaw students, but Mililani students don’t have to worry about getting caught in a drive-by or getting jumped on campus. Mililani doesn’t have to dispatch police officers to patrol the school like Crenshaw does. There are more opportunities for gifted programs and advanced placement (AP) classes at Mililani than Crenshaw. And within those gifted programs and AP classes, the students of Mililani don’t have to worry about paying rent and keeping a nighttime job just to stay off the streets or out of abusive foster homes, like Olivia’s predicament.

The teachers at Crenshaw High are mostly there just for the paycheck. They don’t care about the students’ performance. They rate their kids according to “cooperative to life threatening.” At Mililani, most of the teachers aren’t there just for the paycheck. They are there because they want to help kids better their education. It’s proven because even with the furloughs, the teachers adapted to try and get their students to learn all their supposed to learn even though their paychecks have been significantly cut.

Mililani is clearly better off than Crenshaw High. Even though Mililani does have its criminals and offenders, its so minor compared to that of Crenshaw. The community itself doesn’t show signs of hardship and people aren’t seen on the streets in Mililani like Crenshaw. All in all, Crenshaw High School and Mililani High School are significantly different from each other.