The Coldest Winter Ever, Sister Souljah
8/20 - 10 min., 8/21 - 30 min., 8/22 - 45 min., 8/25 - 75 min.
Total: 160 min. pp. 1-347
Winter Santiaga is the daughter of a notorious drug dealer. She has always had a luxurious lifestyle which consisted of her doing anything she desired. But on one particular day, her life transformed into a nightmare. Her mother was shot in the face by her father's enemies, and her father was sent to prison by the FBI. They seized their mansion and everything in it, as well as withdrawing all of the money in their bank accounts since it was all bought by drug money. Winter tries to survive on her own.
I really like how Sister Souljah starts off with this book. It's about Winter claiming to be extremely disgusted by Sister Souljah, who is the author. I especially admire Souljah for creating such a distinct voice. As each word goes by in the book, I know how Winter (the narrator) sounds like. Since Winter and her family are from the ghettos of Brooklyn, NY, I can depict how they would speak. She uses what people call "ghetto dialect": (pg. 1) "Brooklyn-born I don't have no sob stories for you about rats and roaches and pissy-pew hallways." I believe in the saying: "you reap what you sow." People who go through life providing kindness and goodness to others will be rewarded for their behavior. But those who lack kindness and produce hatred will be suffered from their actions and receive the hatred that they produced. Winter is incredibly selfish and believes that nobody is better than she is. She receives everything she wants, and she treats those who are poorer than her like pests. Therefore, because of her actions, she suffers the punishments.
I haven't finished the book yet, but it's a hard book to put down. Sister Souljah instantly grabbed me by the first page with Winter's spiteful introduction. I really enjoy this book because it's so enthralling to read about a lifestyle opposite of mine. Winter has nothing to hold her back from doing what she wants, while I have no liberty at all. It's fascinating to compare our different lifestyles, and viewing how she reacts to everything as a homeless woman. I think because she's always lived a life of royalty, she doesn't understand the meaning of hard work and how to react to certain things that common people would know how to react to. This book never ceases to surprise me. You'd think Winter would stop thinking/acting maliciously after she becomes homeless, but she in fact becomes a corrupted individual, and far worse than what she was before.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
In Defense of Culture: An Asian Girl's Manifesto
To start things off, I don't have a specific culture. I was born in America. I am a Vietnamese, Chinese, and Khmer mixture. Genetically, I am a blend of all three, but most fluent in Vietnamese. Growing up, I was ashamed of my heritage. Since I went to school with mostly American kids, I labeled myself as an alien. Everything about my appearance was different: my jet black hair, my nose, the shape of my eyes, and my height. No, I never admitted that I was ashamed nor were the kids ever mean to me. They'd point out that I looked different, but they never teased me for that reason. I wanted to look like them. But I also wanted to have the uber cool parents that allowed me to hang out with my friends whenever I wanted to, eat whatever, wear whatever, and to not require me to make all A's.
But eventually as I matured, I realized how important my culture really is and how significant it is in my life. Even though others complain about having strict Asian parents, they don't understand how difficult it was to live during the Vietnam War or the genocide in Cambodia. Although they went to school and were educated, they spent the majority of their time worrying about their families being safe or working in the rice fields. The reason why they're so strict is because they never had a chance to be successful in school to achieve their dream jobs. They want their children to have a successful life and having nothing to stand in the way of that, to grasp the opportunities that they never had. My culture defines who I am. I think and act the way I do because of my culture. I am so different from the rest of everyone else, but I'm proud of myself for that.
Being a mixture of three ethnicities, it's interesting to see the differences of each in my daily life. There are different customs, food, languages, and religions. I'm Catholic, as well as my father, but my mother and everyone on her side are Buddhists. I go to church most of the time with my father, but I'm also obligated to go to temple with my mom ocassionally. People ask me if I ever get confused with the languages I speak, but I don't. Since Vietnamese was my first language, my parents told me it was a bit hard for me to transition to English. Now I distinguish them all very well, so it's not confusing for me. I appreciate the different food, too. Some days I'll eat Vietnamese for dinner, other days I'll have kuy teav (a cambodian dish), etc.
The reason why I feel like this topic needs to be defended is because of what I observe. Too many people are losing their cultures, especially people coming from an Asian heritage. I know many people who aren't able to understand/speak/write their native language, who never eat their native food, and forget the morals and customs that consist of their culture. One of the customs that we have is we use chopsticks to eat. There are some people I know who don't know how to. Another one is that we always leave our shoes outside. I've been to a few Asian homes where they wear their shoes inside. It's a bit disappointing to see your friends not being able to communicate with their families because they can't understand them, or not knowing their own traditions.
Losing your culture might not seem critical to you, but let's say if your children ask you about the heritage they are from, and you're not capable of telling them. And as more and more families become Americanized, what will become of that culture present in America? Lost languages, lost food, lost traditions... what will become of those generations? Genetically, yes, they will be Asian and look Asian, but will they truly know what it means to be Asian?
But eventually as I matured, I realized how important my culture really is and how significant it is in my life. Even though others complain about having strict Asian parents, they don't understand how difficult it was to live during the Vietnam War or the genocide in Cambodia. Although they went to school and were educated, they spent the majority of their time worrying about their families being safe or working in the rice fields. The reason why they're so strict is because they never had a chance to be successful in school to achieve their dream jobs. They want their children to have a successful life and having nothing to stand in the way of that, to grasp the opportunities that they never had. My culture defines who I am. I think and act the way I do because of my culture. I am so different from the rest of everyone else, but I'm proud of myself for that.
Being a mixture of three ethnicities, it's interesting to see the differences of each in my daily life. There are different customs, food, languages, and religions. I'm Catholic, as well as my father, but my mother and everyone on her side are Buddhists. I go to church most of the time with my father, but I'm also obligated to go to temple with my mom ocassionally. People ask me if I ever get confused with the languages I speak, but I don't. Since Vietnamese was my first language, my parents told me it was a bit hard for me to transition to English. Now I distinguish them all very well, so it's not confusing for me. I appreciate the different food, too. Some days I'll eat Vietnamese for dinner, other days I'll have kuy teav (a cambodian dish), etc.
The reason why I feel like this topic needs to be defended is because of what I observe. Too many people are losing their cultures, especially people coming from an Asian heritage. I know many people who aren't able to understand/speak/write their native language, who never eat their native food, and forget the morals and customs that consist of their culture. One of the customs that we have is we use chopsticks to eat. There are some people I know who don't know how to. Another one is that we always leave our shoes outside. I've been to a few Asian homes where they wear their shoes inside. It's a bit disappointing to see your friends not being able to communicate with their families because they can't understand them, or not knowing their own traditions.
Losing your culture might not seem critical to you, but let's say if your children ask you about the heritage they are from, and you're not capable of telling them. And as more and more families become Americanized, what will become of that culture present in America? Lost languages, lost food, lost traditions... what will become of those generations? Genetically, yes, they will be Asian and look Asian, but will they truly know what it means to be Asian?
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Summer Reading - The Outsiders
In addition to reading In Defense of Food and Nation this summer, I also read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I have to say that I enjoyed it the best out of all three of the books. The novel's perspective comes from a young orphan named Ponyboy who grows up in a troubled society with two gangs: the Greasers and the Socs. These are two rival gangs who are separated by their status and rank in wealth. Ponyboy, being a Greaser, initially loathes the Socs. Because every Greaser detests the Socs, Ponyboy believes he should, too. But as Ponyboy grows and understands that Socs are also humans, just rich ones, he thinks better of them and gets along with most of them. At the end of the book, Ponyboy loses two of his best friends because of the fights between the Socs, and because of that he becomes thankful for his life and puts an end to his hate for the Socs.
I find it hard to be impressed by a book, but after I finished this book, I felt amazed by it. It was a bit hard to comprehend a few parts since this book is set in the '60s, but I really admire S.E. Hinton's work. I think it truly depicts a crystal clear picture of how our society behaves. I mean, for the obvious, the rich and the poor have different viewpoints on certain things, they act and dress differently, and spend money differently. But I think this book relates to not only the poor and rich, but also to other people in general. Different ethnicities are defined by stereotypes. In the book, Ponyboy ultimately hates the Socs for what they have and how they look, just because they are Socs. After he gets to know them, he realizes that "Socs" is just a label and stereotypes aren't always accurate. I really admire this book for it's honesty, and I think after a person reads it, he or she will go, "This is an accurate book of our society with a positive message." I think a considerable amount of prejudice in this world is based off of stereotypes and first impressions of people. In the book, the Soc girls wouldn't dare to talk to any of the Greasers because of their long, greasy hair and their shabby clothes. In our society, there are a set of imaginary rules that everyone knows. You have to be a certain this and this, and you aren't allowed to have this, be this, or act like this or else you won't be accepted. If you look different or act different, does that mean you aren't as good as anyone else? Our society thinks so. I feel as if our society is just too afraid of becoming different from others or getting to know people who are different, since they'll be labeled as different as well. I think this is an enjoyable book for anyone who feels the same way.
I find it hard to be impressed by a book, but after I finished this book, I felt amazed by it. It was a bit hard to comprehend a few parts since this book is set in the '60s, but I really admire S.E. Hinton's work. I think it truly depicts a crystal clear picture of how our society behaves. I mean, for the obvious, the rich and the poor have different viewpoints on certain things, they act and dress differently, and spend money differently. But I think this book relates to not only the poor and rich, but also to other people in general. Different ethnicities are defined by stereotypes. In the book, Ponyboy ultimately hates the Socs for what they have and how they look, just because they are Socs. After he gets to know them, he realizes that "Socs" is just a label and stereotypes aren't always accurate. I really admire this book for it's honesty, and I think after a person reads it, he or she will go, "This is an accurate book of our society with a positive message." I think a considerable amount of prejudice in this world is based off of stereotypes and first impressions of people. In the book, the Soc girls wouldn't dare to talk to any of the Greasers because of their long, greasy hair and their shabby clothes. In our society, there are a set of imaginary rules that everyone knows. You have to be a certain this and this, and you aren't allowed to have this, be this, or act like this or else you won't be accepted. If you look different or act different, does that mean you aren't as good as anyone else? Our society thinks so. I feel as if our society is just too afraid of becoming different from others or getting to know people who are different, since they'll be labeled as different as well. I think this is an enjoyable book for anyone who feels the same way.
Free Post - My Expectations of English Class
To introduce myself, my name is Christine. I'd say I'm just your average incoming freshman: apprehensive, but also thrilled at the same time. So far, I'm adjusting to my freshman year, and it has kicked off to a pretty good start. Hopefully, it will stay like that for the whole school year. My expectations of English I are a great deal of homework and essays. To be honest, I've always disliked English class; to me I've always dreaded walking into English class. English is my worst subject; writing is cruel to me, and I am horrifyingly terrible at it. I do like to read, though, especially books that spark an interest to me. I like to read books with plots that deal with social issues of our society and books where I can absorb something valuable and useful. I can't say that I'm an avid reader; I don't have time where I can put off everything that goes on in my life and just read during my spare time because I want to.
My main goal for English this year is to push myself to the farthest extent on every single assignment that Dr. deGravelles assigns us. One of my biggest drawbacks is that I do really well on assignments initially, but over time I become weary and lazy, and I don't do as well on assignments that I know I am able to do exceptionally well on. I already know that I'm awful at English, but I'll strive to do my best on every single assignment and pay attention undoubtedly. I don't really have any concerns about English class, although I still am a bit anxious about it. Hopefully, it won't be as stressful or ghastly as I expect it to be. I hope English will become one of my favorite subjects!
My main goal for English this year is to push myself to the farthest extent on every single assignment that Dr. deGravelles assigns us. One of my biggest drawbacks is that I do really well on assignments initially, but over time I become weary and lazy, and I don't do as well on assignments that I know I am able to do exceptionally well on. I already know that I'm awful at English, but I'll strive to do my best on every single assignment and pay attention undoubtedly. I don't really have any concerns about English class, although I still am a bit anxious about it. Hopefully, it won't be as stressful or ghastly as I expect it to be. I hope English will become one of my favorite subjects!
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