Moral Belief
My moral belief is that we were all created equally. I think the foundation of this belief is that I’ve had personal experiences with racism, and my father’s family has had even more. My moral belief has been shaped by my thoughts of racism being a horrible and ugly thing. My core belief isn’t soley based on emotion, and can be thought out logically. Hopefull with my moral belief, I can learn not only to treat people how I would like to be treated, but to not think of people as any less of a person because of how they look, or where they come from.
PICTURE DAY
What this picture shows is that we’re a happy family enjoying ourselves on a nice trip. In this photo, we’re actually at a city official building that used to be the home of former president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos. This photo neglects to capture the fact that in this photo it was 102 degrees and all I wanted to do was go back to the room with a fan. All I was wishing for was air conditioning. It doesn’t show that I was suffering the loss of a family member, and that we were just trying to escape the chaos for a day. Pictures only capture a milisecond in time that people are smiling in so that when we go back to look at them, it seems that we were always happy.
Teen Stereotypes
Common stereotypes that permeate through teen movies are the queen bee, her quarterback boyfriend, the weird kid that wants to fit in, and the queen bee’s posse. I find it hard to believe that these stereotypes originated in an actual high school setting because people don’t act that bold in reality. In the movieYou Againwith actresses like Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell, and Odette Annabel, the director, Andy Fickman, portrays how high school rivalries never really die. Many are unfamiliar with this movie; as an overview of the film, Bell plays the nerd who fails to fit in. Fickman ties in the lives of mother, Curtis, and daughter, Bell, and it turns out that Bell’s brother is marrying the queen bee from her high school days, and the aunt of the queen bee is Curtis’s rival from high school as well. Odette’s character played the queen bee, and although she was a brunette, she had a posse, she was a cheerleader, and she was set to marry the basketball team’s captain. What I just noticed was that at the beginning of the film, my brother and I were expecting the stereotyped subconsciously; when we saw Odette’s character it was obvious that she was the head chick, and she was going to be picking on somebody (the audience never expects the queen bee to be nice to people that aren’t on her level). The purpose of using teen stereotypes in this film is to demonstrate how much value teens place on decisions made in high school. Fickman isn’t exactly saying that every high school has its queen bee/posse, but that decisions made in high school aren’t as important as teenagers in high school make them out to be. In the event of homecoming or prom, it’s not going to matter years down the road if we made it on time, or with a date. Like Fickman is exaggerating the queen bee position, and the nerdy girl who can’t fit in, many high schoolers exaggerate the importance of what adults would find to be a minuscule issue.
Long, long, ago, I would lose track of time practicing. I would play frequently for enjoyment. It was my favorite thing in the world.
I was introduced to the foreign world of competitive piano when I joined this studio. It was a complete 180 from the mindless practice and easy repertoire…
I never knew that you lost passion for piano, Tiffany. At Blue Lake a few years back it seemed like nothing could hold you back from what you loved to do. I guess I feel the same way about piano now too; I can’t sit down on the piano for more than an hour at a time. It’s very inspiring to see that you can at least be honest with yourself and just say that you simply don’t have the passion for it anymore. To me, I don’t know if I’m just going through a phase that I don’t feel like playing, or if I simply lost passion like you have. I think your story is very honest, and encourages others to be truthful with themselves.
Yes she’s my mom…
Whenever I think of a self-realization cliché, I think of the inspirational quote to “Be Yourself”, but it’s so hard for me to believe in that because I don’t look like who I am. Where do I begin to “be [my]self”, when I don’t even look like myself?
Before even taking the ACT, juniors across the country had to fill in hundreds of bubbles: Name, address, birthday, race, and repeat. Every section that had the race bubbles was different; some test makers were kind enough to give us halfers an “other” bubble to fill in. Yes I’m African American, but I can fill in that Asian bubble too. I don’t know what to put, maybe I should just leave it blank; yes the teacher’s moving on, so just leave it blank.
I can fill in the Asian bubble in the race bubble because believe it or not my birth mother was born and spent a lot of her childhood in the Philippines. It comes as a shock to most people; one would be surprised at the responses people have given my mother and I. Last year, a friend of mines met my mom and a day later she asked me “When were you adopted?”. At parent teacher conferences they’ve asked my mother “So whose parent are you again? Justin Nguyen’s?”. The incidents are countless, and the more frequently they occurred, the more I began to ponder on why does it bother me so much when people assume that my mom isn’t actually my mom.
I think that it bothers me because not many people have to fight with somebody and say things like “yes it really is my mom”, and “no I wasn’t adopted”. I’m not saying this to make people who ask me this feel bad, but from my point of view it’s frustrating and sometimes I wish I looked more like her so that the question doesn’t even cross people’s minds.
A point of self-discovery was when a friend of mines asked me “When were you adopted?”. It was kind of funny at first because it sounded like a dumb question, but it was a logical question and it made sense. It was frustrating because it made sense. Why is it that I’m one of the few who have to defend the fact that my mom is my mom? http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-02-14/news/9602140066_1_multi-ethnic-americans-mixed-race-racial-identity this article highlights points that I feel that I will have to overcome in the future. When you don’t really look like the group that you’re supposed to belong to, it’s hard to figure out how you’re supposed to fit in. Don’t get me wrong I love my Filipino family, and I don’t feel like I stick out, but to others I look like I don’t belong; I look like I was adopted and was in need of a family.
I’m happy that I don’t have to go through this internal conflict alone, many of my cousins are mixed, and also I have a brother that’s mixed too. Hopefully people can learn to look passed what’s on the outside and realize that there’s more to people than one could ever know by just looking at them. I can’t blame people for not knowing, or for asking me questions that make logical sense. I can’t blame them because when I look in the mirror I still don’t know what I see, I just know that people do see me as the girl who was adopted.
My Encounter with the Bully
In 4th grade I shared a locker with Tyrea Tillman, which is an experience that plays a major role in how I act today. In our locker Tyrea had basketball clothes, basketballs, a closet worths amount of shoes, coats, snowpants, gloves, books, and I had just enough space for a lunch box. In short, I had the top shelf while Tyrea got basically the entire locker. Was I supposed the confront the girl that flipped to red (discipline cards- green was good, yellow was notice, orange was warning, red was a note home) and tell her that I wanted an inch more space in our… I mean her… locker? Being the timid school girl I let her walk all over me. I covered for her when she was in troule, once causing our entire class to stay in from beloved recess. I helped her on her homework; who am I kidding? I fully completed her homework on most occasions, and I let her steal my juice from my lunch box and pretended like I didn’t know. Was I really that big of a wimp?
Things progressed so far that my teacher had to talk to me and ask me why I just wasn’t having a good “school experience”; whatever that meant. I told her that everything was fine. I finally told my dad that Tyrea Tillman was just not the girl I wanted to be associated with. I sat with her in class, and I had to share my locker with her… it was just too much. My dad came in and have me moved with Colleen in front of the teachers desk. That makes me sound like an even bigger wimp.
It seemed like the Tyrea issue had stopped since she couldn’t torment me when I was in front of the teacher, but it was far from over. She told me that I was a real punk for having to have my dad come in and move me, and that I should have fought my own battles. I was the girl that stayed on green (back to the discipline cards) everyday, what was I supposed to say to that. Maybe if she hadn’t stolen my juice that day, I would of had something to stall with… but I didn’t. I told her “Who do you think you are that you get to boss me around? You don’t even know me, so you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore Tyrea. I’m not your pet.” That was it. I knew I was about to get knocked out like she had done another student that should remain nameless. Unbelievably, she was speechless. That was it? She didn’t have a witty comeback, an insult, anything?
I went back to my locker and found that she had given me more space than usual, but that could have been a coincidence. In class, there had been a shift and Tyrea was avoiding me, that was great. I started having a better time in school, and I eventually moved back to my old table with Tyrea, Justin Edwards, and Colleen McClelland, and we had so many laughs. Things between me and Tyrea eventually got less awkward where we were able to have decent conversations. Things were starting to look up.
From this, I learned that I can’t let anybody walk all over me because everybody deserves some type of resepct. In the present, it’s obvious by the way I carry myself that I don’t let anybody treat me like I’m worthless. Tyrea taught me that I have to stand up for myself once in a while. Whether she realizes it or not, she changed my personality altogether. We don’t know what other people go through in life and we can’t judge them by how they act in school, or at work, etc. Today, Tyrea is actually one of my closest friends. She comes over a lot in the summer and I’m happy we got to know each other a lot better. Tyrea has helped me to become a stronger person, and for that I respect her; I hope to have impcted her life as well.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close [Finished]
I’m finished with the book and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Oskar had the ability to make me cry with him, laugh with him, and wonder what he wondered. He’s an unusually smart boy. I felt like I sort of accompanied him through his journey. I would definitely recommend this book to others who enjoy recent history, journeys (not just physical journeys, but emotional journeys also), and children coping with family deaths. Oskar is a funny and bright young boy, so it’s painful to watch him go through the confusion as to why the only person who understood him fully is gone. His mother and grandma were major supports to him, and I’m glad they were there to help him through this. The book overall was very enjoyable, and a fast read. There was never a dull part that I wondered why I chose this book. I’m satisfied with the book I chose and would definitely read it again.
Music through the Eyes of Me
mu·sic
noun
1.an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.Dictionary.com
Music to Others
This shows that music can mean a lot to people, not just because it’s what you do when you’re bored, but it’s what you feel when you’re bored. It can be inspiring and lifting to hear music when you’re down, happy, or just need something to do.
Music sends me in a trans of pure emotion and feeling. Its like my ears , body mind , soul are all one. Its my purest state of being. Im completely vournalble. Its like being naked and dancing in the rain when i make music. When i create a good song,medleys or lyrics. Sometimes i dont know where the lyrics come 4rm….they just flow out. Its a blessing to be able to have them come through me. medleys those are most special to me, it sounds like stars lining up. Magic. Making since of all the noise is what music is…to make since of all the noise. I love songs that make since of all the noise in a perfect dance. You cant expsilan it, you just feel it, that how i know its right, how it feels. Like water on a stream..it just flows…
Songs i write, some i’d never let someone hear, sometimes its too much. Those are the ones that matter tho, cause when i do play them, people get it. More than i thought. Some songs i dont think much about , but mean so much to someone else.
