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.