Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the day that we celebrate the pilgrims coming to America and having a great feast with the Indians. As a child this is what my teachers taught me while in elementary school. But as I got older I learned that Thanksgiving is a holiday for friends and family to come together, share a great big feast, share some laughs, and to catch up on what has been going on through the past years. It is also a chance to learn what you have been missing out on. While at least that is what happened to me this Thanksgiving Day.


On Thanksgiving I learned that I don’t really get to see my family a lot anymore since I am away at school. Don’t get me wrong, I am not all the way across the ocean or any thing, but I don’t get to see them as much as I did before, and I realized that when I went to my Nina’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Right when I walked in everyone said “Oh my gosh she is alive,” and started laughing. I also started laughing because it was true. I haven’t seen any of them for almost two months; my only connection with them was the phone and sometimes that’s not good enough. Also my family and I got to spend Thanksgiving with my father, since it has been almost a year since we last saw him.


When my father was not there for Thanksgiving last year it hurt because you want your whole family to be there. I didn’t think it was going to hurt that much because I had my other family around me but I felt like a piece of me was missing. I was so happy that my family and I were having a good time, sharing laughs and memories, but there was also that sadness that made me want to cry because the main person I wanted there was not there. So having my dad there this Thanksgiving I got to have my missing piece. I felt whole again because he was there laughing with us and sharing our memories. It was good.


Mainly I learned Thanksgiving is the day to be thankful for what you have. I am thankful that I have a family who cares about me, shows they miss me by making jokes, and our behind me 100% in what ever decisions I make. I am also thankful that I got to have my father come and have Thanksgiving with us and also that he is trying to change his life for himself and his family. But I also learned that I don’t need a holiday like Thanksgiving to have my family come together because whenever any of us need someone we are always there.

Influences for My Writing

Stephen King has helped me as a writer to learn and better understand the proper uses for description and dialogue in my writing. While reading Night Shift I was able to see how he uses horrifying description and dialogue to capture the reader’s attention. He describes the characters from head to toe, strange noises, and their conversations. By reading these three writing techniques King uses over and over again in his stories, I began to understand why the readers enjoy him so much. I discovered that like his other readers, once I picked up the book, I couldn’t put it back down.


The way King described the characters in the story Boogeyman was intriguing. I was not able to put the book down until I finished it. “The man was Lester Billings from Waterbury, Connecticut. According to the history taken from Nurse Vickers, he was twenty-eight, employed by an industrial firm in New York, divorced, and the father of three children. All deceased (pg 93).” Reading this first sentence I wanted to know why he was divorced and why all three of his children were deceased. I also liked how King used both description and dialogue to explain more about Lester, his relationship with his doctor, and decide whether he is crazy or not. “How were your children murdered?” “Don’t try to jerk it out of me! (pg 94).” These two sentences showed me that Lester didn’t want to be rushed in telling his story because he was going to tell the doctor anyway. At this part I wanted him to tell his story right away because I wanted to know what happened, like the doctor did.


I enjoy reading Stephen King because he always keeps you wanting more and more just like he did with me. Being a writer I want my readers to keep wanting more and more from my stories. I want them to understand just from my descriptions and dialogue how my characters feel.

Life's Impacts

One of the blog’s I enjoyed reading was the poem Love Song V: Conjurer. While reading the poem I got interested in how it let you use your imagination. I also liked how the title was Conjurer which means by secret natural means. That is exactly what the poem is about. The person wants there love to do anything that will show their love for them. By this I like how you use the wind as the messenger for their love. You explain how, whenever the person says his or her loves name, the wind will blow meaning that their love is coming back to them. This is what people wish when someone they love has left them or is far away from them. To them it is a message showing that their loved ones are still there.


Another blog I enjoyed reading was Meditations 1. I liked reading this blog because it’s based on a real event and everyone has something they regret doing in their lives. Your regret was driving under the influence. I liked how you admitted that you were scared to face the consequences of your actions, while other people say it wasn’t their fault that instead it was so and so faults. I also like how you explained that by facing your consequences you became a better person and are proud for staying with the program. As for the other people, they would have given up. So good for you.

Sleep

My biggest frustration at the moment is not having enough time to do anything. Don’t get me wrong, my teachers do give me enough time to do my work, but it always seems something else comes up causing the time I had to become short. For example every week it seems I always get a new assignment. I either have homework, an exam to study for, a project due, and on top of all that I have to work. With all my assignments changing all the time I barely have anytime to sleep. I miss sleep. At night I only get about six to five hours of sleep, so while in class I tend to sometimes fall asleep, and that is not good. That is why I am happy that the break is coming up because I will be able to catch up on my sleep. But can you believe it? I also have to work on my project for my class; it never stops.

What Have We Become

It’s been said, “Never judge a book by its cover.” However, we live in a society where looks are everything. Two important ideas, in our opinion, that emerge from the stories in the movie, Crash are that our looks define who we are and that we’ve helped society stereotype us. Our looks are what get us friends, jobs, and stereotyped. We assume that all blacks are African American, all Latinos are Mexicans, or that all Middle Easterners are terrorist, but this is not true. Due to the lack of communication, this has led us to act judgmental and ignorant about other cultures. Society has led us to this and we have not done anything to correct it, instead we encourage it.


The film Crash displayed various situations that dealt with stereotypes from people of different cultures and people who are not accepted in our society. The world we live in has showed us that our appearance is important because it’s the key to our success. This has led us to look for imperfection in others and to label them into stereotypes. These stereotypes have been around us for so long that we believe they are true and that they define people’s cultures. For example, Jean Cabot saw that Daniel, the locksmith was bald, tattooed and Hispanic, and instantly assumed he was a gang member that was up to no good. She believed that Daniel would give the spare keys to one of his “homies,” so that they could break into her house. Jean defined Daniel by his appearance without knowing he was a loving father and husband. Our personalities, morals, and cultures originally defined who we are; instead our image has become our identity. We have accepted this, which has led us act how society portrays us.


Although, we have fostered the bad concepts people have about us, we expect them not to judge us. For instance, Jean Cabot felt uncomfortable in the presence of two African Americans, which led her to grab hold of her husband for safety. Anthony, one of the guys complains about people thinking stereotypically about him because of the color of his skin. Yet, he steals cars and trucks to sell in order to obtain money. In doing this, he fits into the stereotype people have about African Americans, which is that they are lazy, criminals, and dangerous. We have not realized that we have done this to ourselves and that we need to change those bad concepts people have about us.


The movie Crash shows how we have fallen into society’s trap. A trap we have created because of our insecurities and misunderstandings. Our lack of communication has created a boundary between us that does not let us realize that every human being is unique in their own way. If we could only comprehend this, the world would be a better place. Let’s not allow our looks to define us or to fall into people’s stereotypes because we are much more than that, we each are extraordinary individuals.

I Need More Time

My biggest frustration at the moment is not having enough time to do anything. Don’t get me wrong, my teachers give me enough time to work on my assignments, but it always seems something else comes up causing the time I had to become short. For example every week it seems I always get a new assignment. I either have homework, an exam to study for, a project due, and on top of all that I have to work. With all my assignments changing all the time I barley have anytime to sleep. I miss sleep. At night I only get about six to five hours of sleep, so while in class I tend to sometimes fall asleep, and that is not good. That is why I am happy that the break is coming up because I will be able to catch up on my sleep. But can you believe it; I also have to work on my project for one of my classes. It never stops.

Past 24 Hours

Within the past 24 hours I learned that figurative language is based on five scenes that will help me in my writing to explain: a touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. I learned that the author Judith Ortiz Cofer was labeled as not just being a writer, but being a Latina writer. Like her, I learned that there is nothing wrong with being you and showing people that this is alright. If you are fine with yourelf then everyone else will be too, and if they are not then that is there problem not mine or yours. Another thing I learned is that by managing my time I won't feel too stressed out. I just need to take care of myself and stay organized.

Which Do I Choose?

The elements I like about stories and storytelling is the fact that there are so many to choose from. I get to read or hear stories that I find interesting and enjoy, rather then just reading and listening to the same old story over and over again. For example I have a wide variety that ranges from: horror, fairytales, drama, mytsery, legend, myths, and so on. By having this wide variety I get to to imagine the settings and characters the authors have described. I like how at the end of story I can read and feel a different emotion becasue I probably relate to some of the problems the characters might be confronting with in the story. To my surprise I also like how I can find the charatcer as my hero because they dealt with the problem they were facing just like in the two stories "Ali Baba" and "The Boogeyman."

Both "Ali Baba" and "The Boogeyman" faced the problems they had. While they faced thier problems I got to use my imagination and feel two different emotions at the end of thier stories. "Ali Baba" is a fairytale to me because it dealt with the magical words, openings of caves, treasures, and the usual happy ending. This story begins with Ali Baba being a poor man then turning into a rich man and his slave girl Morigana gaining her freedom. One day Ali Baba found hte forty thieves and their hide out which had treasures beyond our imaginations. He heard the magical words "Open, Sesame" and watched as cave opened and the forty hiteves going in. He then heard the words "Shut, Sesame" and watched the cave closed as the forty thieves were leaving. When the forty thieves were done Ali used the magical words "Open, Sesame" to open the cave and take some of the forty thieves treasures and then used the magical words "Shut, Sesame" to close the cave. When I read this I pictured a cave opening and a man standing there with his hands up in the air saying "Open, Sesame." After he took some of the treasure the forty thieves found out and began looking for him. When htey finally found him they tried to kill him but failed because his slave girl Morgiana found out thier plan and killed them before they could kill Ali. After the forty thieves deaths thier Captain tried to kill Ali as revenge for his gang but like them he failed and died too. Morigana killed him during her knife dance. When I read this I saw Morigana dancing with the knife and then throwing it into the Captains heart. At the end of the story I felt happy for both Ali and Morigana because Ali didn't die and Morigana was set free and married Ali's eldest son.

While reading Stephen King's "The Boogeyman" I felt it was a legend, horror, and myth story. It begins with a man named Lester Billings who came to see Doc. Harper to tell him the story of how his three children really died. While he told Doc. Harper his story, he was nervous and kept smiling a half smile. As I read this I pictured a sweating man that looked guilty with a scary smile that kind of freaked me out. As he told the his story he described how his three children would scream whenever it was time for bed. They would tell him "No Daddy, the Boogeyman." But he would ignore them and when he did all three of them ended up dead. I was sad when he described the deaths of his children. I could picture the first kid Denny dead on his back white as flour, Shirl who was all black because she swallowed her own tongue, and Andy who wa shaken so hard that his neck broke and blood dripped from his ear. He also explained how he saw "Awful slumped shoulders and a scarecrow head and could smell something like a dead mouse in a pop bottle (pg 103)." When Billings was done telling Doc. Harper everything, Doc. Harper told him to make an appointment for anohter visit. Billings said "Yes" and went to but on one was there, so he went back to tell the Doc. But when he arrived he found the Boogeyman holding a mask. After I read that I got scared and was surprised because he told everything tothe Boogeyman of what he saw and now was going to die. It was sad.

The elements I like about stories and storytelling are how we have a wide variety to read and hear. Whether we like horror, fairytales, drama, mystery, legend, myths, or anything else, they are out there to be read and heard. They make us use our imaginations rather then just doing it for us. I also like how older and younger people can read stories that relate and help them find heroes they would never have thought to have. Finding something you never thought you would be interested in and then find out you enjoy it is what stories and storytelling is all about.