I am Thankful for ...

I am thankful for the peers that surround me in my wonderful seat. Sofia, Rosalina, Elizaberth, Imani, Amanda, Jennifer, Bing, Jonathan, and both Stephanie L. and Ashley C. who aren't in this class but I just need to mention them! They are super amazing and I would be totally lost in class if it wasn't without them. Especially Sofia! I have multiple classes with Sofia and I hope to experience more ridiculous moments with her! Elizaberth and I had almost identical schedules last year and we've had those ridiculous moments as well. Even though Jesse mocks me for being super forgetful and irresponsible at times he has been super helpful and it's thanks to him I'm surviving Mandarin! Amanda, even though we don't know each other too well, you are hilarious and I hope we get to know each other better. Jennifer! I enjoy reading you're works and I hope we get to know each other even more throughout this year as well! I give thanks to all my peers that are helping me survive my high school years! You guys are amazing! Oh and thank you to all my teachers for just being both patient and awesome with me! Happy Thanksgiving!

Edgar Allan Poe

The first thing I question when I read a work of Edgar Allan Poe is what inspired him to create such stories full of supernatural components and ideas that go against society norms. Reading his biography I get a clue. At first I suspected that his military life might have been the main component to such dark stories, but then, upon reading that Poe's life is filled with sorrow, death of loved ones, and neglection, I realize that maybe it's not so much his military experience but his life that's filled with with ups and downs (mostly downs though). Poe lost his parents when he was just three and was taken to a rich tobacco man who neglected Poe in an indirect and strange way. He sent Poe to college with almost no money causing him to go into a major debt. He remarried without telling Poe and ,when the time of his death came, left Poe out of his will. To go along with such neglection Poe also lost his wife, step-mother, and brother. The depression that came with such tragic events can be seen in most, if not all, of  his work; such as the story of Ligeia. Ligeia is a story of a man deeply in love with a woman who later dies causing him to be depressed. He then moves and finds another woman, whom he doesn't feel as strongly about as Ligeia. This story strongly correlates with his own life when his first wife dies.
On a different note, is it just me or is there a sense of insanity in every work of Poe? It's rather inevitable for Poe to not become a bit insane. The amount of depression that must have accumulated over the years of such unfortunate events must have led Poe to experience some sort of insanity. Just a random thought to think about. :)

What is an American?

What is an American? You tell me because, well, I’m “American” and my parents are American. Which American are we talking about? The “American” American or the American American. Oh! We’re talking about the “American” American. Well, for the most part, people would say an “American” American is someone born in the United States, which is funny though because there are many countries in the Americas. Why does the term “American” only refer to the U.S., I’m not sure. So, what is an American? I would say an American is someone whose lineage has been in the U.S for many generations. But then that wouldn’t make me American, and I’m okay with that because I am more familiar with my Mexican traditions. Then again... Mexico, and many other countries, is greatly influenced by America. America the “Melting pot” (Creds to Keduse) of many other countries.  I feel like America is a fruit smoothie. A mixture that contains a little bit of everything and taste great. But it couldn’t be great without the actual all these different types of fruit.

 “American”, in my opinion, shouldn’t be considered an ethnicity or whatever it’s considered now. Neither should Mexican, or Asian, or any other race in the world. Why? Well we all come from the same origin. Why do we have to label ourselves? Labeling ourselves creates so much hate because of pride and patriotism. Even though when I am asked “What are you?” and I answer “Mexican-American”, most of the time I wonder why I am considered American. Yeah I was born in Chicago. But I grew up in a Mexican family, Mexican neighborhood, Mexican school, and spoke Spanish 90% of the time. Basically I was born in Mini-Mexico located in Little Village. Why are my parents considered illegal if the only difference between me and them is our place of birth and if their place of birth helps America the fruit smoothie taste great? I don’t know. I might never know. But I hope that the generations that come after us see what I mean and try to break down some borders. 

Modern Puritans...somewhat

Puritans from my perspective were very narrow-minded and strict, and honestly the only system that pops in my mind that is kinda like the puritan system is gymnastics.  Not really though. I guess it's mostly the strict part of both these systems that is similar. By gymnastics system I pretty much mean the coaches, not the gymnast.  Gymnastics is the only thing I do in my free time and its the only thing I can compare to the Puritan system, so...play along. 

Gymnastics is a very beautiful sport, but behind the competitions and pretty leotards everything is not what it seems. Forgot a piece of your routine? As punishment do 20 more routines, and if you wiggle it doesn't count. Did you forget to point your toes on your leap? OK! Do 20 leaps, over splits, and some toes exercises! Were you tired during your floor routine? Lets do 2 floor routines in a row instead! And we'll include complete tumbling! This is similar to the puritans because with one little mistake there's a punishment that no one wants. Obviously the punishments are very different. In gymnastics the punishment is made so that the gymnast get better. As for the puritan's, punishment can mean death, and there is no escaping it unless you point some fingers. At least in gymnastics you can get away a little bit without hurting anyone else. 

Puritans are also very narrow-minded. They don't consider any other ideas besides their own and the lifestyles they share are the same. In gymnastics you want to win, and to win you gotta do want the judges want, even if it means doing the same thing that every one else is doing. Nowadays the average beam routine is just tumbling and jumps. "Jump, tumble,leap,pose, repeat."  Compared to the 70's or 90's there no longer is as much artistry. If you don't do whats expected then you can't win, or in the Puritans case, you can't survive.

John Proctor Hero or Scrooge?

John Proctor has made many mistakes is his life. He had an affair with Abigail Williams and he did not have a good relationship with his wife Elizabeth. But what makes John a hero is the fact that he has confessed to his mistakes and has tried to improve his relationship with Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth found out that John have committed adultery he openly confessed instead of lying and making a bad situation worse. After he confessed he avoided Abigail because he was afraid that he would make the same mistake again. When Abigail tells him that she waits for him every night Proctor responds "I'll be coming no more."

When Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft Proctor comes to her rescue by risking his reputation and admitting to the whole court he committed adultery, unfortunately Elizabeth couldn't play along. Adultery is a sin and admitting it could have gotten Proctor a severe punishment. Proctor was aware of this but he still went ahead and risked his reputation and life. This was a very heroic move because in the setting that Proctor is in nobody would have done that. 

Arrivals...there goes the neighborhood

Gissel Hernandez

English 5^th      

America is the way it is today thanks to the explorers hundreds of years ago that came and conquered the land. It saddens me though, that this discovery meant getting rid of the Native Americans. Or in other words it saddens me when one family moves into a community that is generally populated by another culture and then immediately moves out because they feel uncomfortable.

Chicago is a very segregated community. There is a fine border line between the Hispanic neighborhood and the Caucasian neighborhood, or between the African American neighborhood and an Asian neighborhood. Growing up in little Village I went to a Mexican school, Mexican grocery store, and even a Mexican community park. Honestly I rarely interacted with people of different races and backgrounds. When I was in 4^th grade a Caucasian girl transferred over to my school. She literally was the only Caucasian in our school. She transferred out in less than three months because her mom didn't like that her school was not diverse. I remember thinking “the reason this school is not diverse is because when one student of a different race transfers in, they immediately transfer out”. All it takes is for one student of a different race to stay and sooner or later the school will become more diverse.  It takes a group effort though. Maybe if we made the girl feel more welcomed she would have stayed. I wonder if the Native Americans welcomed the explorers. If they did it probably wouldn’t have made a difference because the explorers wanted land. If they wanted unity would the Native American community still be here?                       

             

Me!

Hi! Hello! Hola! 안녕! 你好！

            My name is Gissel Hernandez and I recently turned 15 August 25, so that makes me one of the youngest 10^th graders out there! Yay! Anyway at 15 I already have LOT of goals that I’ve been told are kind of ridiculous, but really I can’t wait till the day I prove a lot of people wrong.

            I have been a gymnast for a little more than 5 years. Gymnastics is my favorite sport and I don’t think I’ll ever quit flipping around. Beam is my favorite event and the Uneven Bars is my least favorite. I have fallen a ridiculous amount of times off the bar that I’ve come to dislike it.  I may sound crazy when I say this but every time I stand in front of the bar I feel like it’s laughing at me telling me I will never master the skills on it. I have witnesses of me telling the bar “Dear bar, I hate you.” It sounds funny, but really I say this with a straight face. I’m also a contortionist and I have a couple videos on Youtube (anonymousgissele).

             One of my goals that I’ve been told is kind of ridiculous is that fact that I want to learn 10 languages. I’m already fluent in both Spanish and English, and it’s helped me a lot when I’m learning other languages. I currently am in Mandarin II and am learning Korean online (Youtube! Google!).  I’m still not sure what other languages I’m going to learn but German and Japanese are definitely on my list. This year I also will be applying to study abroad for a month in China! If I do get to study abroad it will be just the beginning. I hope to travel as much as I can during my life because I really like learning about other cultures. It’s also for the food though. I need to have a food adventure in my life!