. Warm Days .

It was warm that day. Gosh, it was just beautiful. It was one of those days where you couldn’t help but look up at the sky, even if the sun burned your eyes and made you see everything with dots. I looked around at my friends, and quickly out from my right, David pushed me. “You’re it!” He gasped, since it took him forever to catch me. I laughed and so did everyone else there because they found it shocking that I had been caught. I was the fastest out of my group of friends, even though there were only eight of us. A very close-knit loving group. I looked back up at David who hung on the monkey bars, out of breath. “You finally got me! How does it feel?” I asked, holding a pretend microphone up to his face, waiting for his answer. He then smiled and pushed my arm out of his way and began to climb to the top of the bars.

I turned quickly around and saw Jen, another one of our group, sitting with her back turned to me. Her black pony tail falling out of its high self, she sat there looking out at the park’s track. I thought it was a perfect and easy opportunity. I quietly snuck up to her, brought my face to her ear, tapped her slightly on her shoulder and whispered, “you’re it,” and dashed like a madman. It wasn’t till I was off the playground that I noticed her still sitting. I stood there, puzzled. If there was anyone to get up and tag the first person she found, it was Jen. Her face looked as puzzled as mine did and I walked up to her. “What’s wrong? Jen.” She looked up at me, then at David, who also noticed Jen’s annoyance, and at everyone else there of our group. “Don’t you guys ever think we are too old for this kind of thing? I mean we’re in a park that we’ve been to since kindergarten, playing TAG!” she was ranting now, “Gosh guys, we’re sophomores! Can we please get out of this park?” I wasn’t quite surprised at the rant Jen was giving.

~

It’s been like this ever since she found Brad. I laugh at the idea of her dating someone. Now, out of my friends Jen was always the one to sneer at the lovey-dovey couples making out at the park or in the mall. Ever since we were little kids, eating glue in kindergarten, we vowed to each other that we would never give our hearts to any boy who tried to come and sweep us off our feet. It seemed over the years that we were going to keep that promise forever. I mean Jen wasn’t an eyesore. Jen had the most beautiful features with her long, straight, polished black hair that swept her face kindly, big brown eyes that gave her doe-in-the-headlights look. She had a tiny frame that made the guys take a second look anytime we walked down the school hallways. I, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. I having thick wavy/curly/crazy red/brown hair, a chubby round face. My body matching my face in its chubbiness. Jen was always my partner in everything we did and now everything has changed.

~

Jen continued her rant, even after no one was listening to her. She got up and walked to the end of the playground. It was then I saw why she began her rant, Brad pulled up into the parking lot next to the gates of the park. In an instant, her face lit up and skipped to his side. Her face smashed up against his window to get him to open it, I look at her with a great upset. I gave her a nasty look and looked back up at David; he had the same face I had.

~

It began to rain that day. It was after Jen left with Brad, that the small, fat drops of rain began to drizzle. “I think I’m going to head out now, See you tomorrow? Lunch?” David asked looking up at the sky, turning from the bright blue to a heavy, gray cloud that seemed to take up and swallow every bit of happiness there was in the day. I nodded to him and continued to stay, even after he started his way home, followed by the rest of our friends. I walked to the slide and climbed up, trying not to get my pants wet. I wiped off the top of the slide and sat. I thought about a lost promise and sisterhood that seemed to be fading. Was I too immature for my age? Should I start to care more about what others thought of me? No. I wasn’t. I was happy the way I was and nothing was going to stop it. I was getting aggravated at nothing, thinking of Jen and her “I’m too old and mature to be playing with little kids” was on my last nerve, but then I really thought the reason I was upset. I was full of envy. Jen had it all, the looks and the boy. I had a mind of a 13 year old and played childish games. I wanted that feeling of knowing someone could take me in and see everything good about me, more than I could myself. Sadly, there was no one. Silly to be mad at her because she had Brad, but I couldn’t help myself.
           
It wasn’t until I came out of my intense thoughts that I noticed how fast and hard the rain was coming down now. It was as if the rain absorbed what I was thinking the way it sloped down my face. I pushed myself with my elbows and down the slide I went. My pants came out very wet and I didn’t really care this time. I decided to take the long way home. I was getting soaked and it never occurred to me that maybe I needed to get home quickly. I looked left, right, and then left again and crossed the street. I was not paying much attention to where I was. Near the crossing of the Lamon and 47^th I never expected it and didn’t see the curb elevated and my toe met the cement.

It was cold and it stung like fire. I had hit the asphalt harder than I thought. I braced my fall with my arms and toppled onto my side. The rain didn’t make anything better, as I fumbled getting up. Man, was I getting soaked. Frustrated, I attempted to stand up and couldn’t with feeling a heated pain from my left ankle. Gosh, can anything get worse?  I was soaked, injured, and already angry. So, I gave it one more try to get up and continue on my way. I had just used all my strength to get up off my knee and stood up. The pain in my ankle was excruciating and I winced as I lifted my foot. As I set it back on the pavement, I felt a force pulling me back by my elbow. I was pulled against someone and just then I felt the spatter of water hit my back, a horn blowing, and a car zooming through the rain past the curb. I gaped at how close I had come to being hit. With an injured ankle, how much better would that have been?

“Are you crazy? Jeez, you could’ve been hit!” came from the voice holding me…still.

I took a moment to collect myself, a near death experience can really shake a person. I noticed my hands were clasped around his arm and I let go. I tipped my head up to look at who this person was and it was Danny. I knew him from school, even though a junior, I encountered him during lunch with friends and the occasional “hi,” in the hallway. His eyes met mine, his shiny, mysterious brown eyes, and I quickly glanced down, I stepped away from him, “thank you, very much.” I exclaimed. He smirked, “No problem, lucky I was there to get to you in time, or imagine what could’ve happened!” I agreed with a tipsy nod. I again realized it was raining and shivered in my sweater. “Better start heading home,” I whispered as another shudder came upon me. I looked up at his face and watched as the rain fell onto it, and sloped his eyes, cheeks, lips. “I guess so, see you at school tomorrow.” As I turned to leave I felt something warm hit my shoulders, it was his jacket. I didn’t understand what he was doing but his response said it all. “It’s an excuse to see you tomorrow.” With that he turned and left. I thought then and there, maybe I should give another thought about this "promise".

It was the jacket that kept the idea warm.

. the only exception .

I choose the song, The Only Exception by Paramore. I was in a love song mood <3 <3, and thought it was a good choice. So here’s my analysis by each stanza!

When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it

From the start, the singer starts to discuss a heartbreak her father had gone through. In the third line, she says he is the one who made his own heart break.

And my momma swore that
She would never let herself forget
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist

In this stanza, the singer talks about her mother being affected by this breakup. Therefore, it is inferred that her mother and father broke up and it was because of the father. Due to this, her mother swore never to love again. Since, she saw the heartache her parents went through, she said she never wanted to fall in love. Singing of her love would make it public and let people know she is capable of love.

But darling, you are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception

In this chorus, she is telling someone that they are the only exception. She is saying that he is the only one who makes her want to love freely. She wants him to know that she loves him. In this stanza, it seems that this part makes it seem like it is a love note to the person she loves.

Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone
Or keep a straight face

And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable distance
And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk

In these two stanzas, she says she knows that love may never last for her, but she wants to try it. She says she has always kept herself away from falling into love and that she didn’t care if she ended up alone. She never wanted to risk her heart to try and fall in love.

But you are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception

I've got a tight grip on reality
But I can't let go of what's in front of me here
I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up
Leave me with some kind of proof, it's not a dream, oh

She is not head over heels in love and she has a straight head even though she is in love. Even though she knows the risk, she still loves him and doesn’t want him to leave. Now when she says he’s leaving in the morning, I don’t think that she is saying he’s leaving forever but just leaving her house. By him leaving proof he was there, she wants to make sure this love isn’t a dream, and she trusts him to come back. Then she continues to says he is the only exception.

You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception

You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception

And I'm on my way to believing
Oh, and I'm on my way to believing

. modern propaganda .

Modern Propaganda – n.

information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc. ( of the modern times)

       

Propaganda can be used to persuade a group of people that they should be thinking some way other than one. Modern Propaganda is the new wave of how to use propaganda. By naming it modern really just states how it gets around now. It used to come through the public by posters and newspapers, but modern technology has changed all that! Modern Propaganda can be found really anywhere. If it is not in the newspapers or on posters throughout the city, it would be on the internet or seen on the television. As there are many examples, one recently is a perfect for this. The recent mayoral election had much propaganda run against the candidates. When the mayoral candidates began to run their campaigns, they each had a little to say about the others’ campaign. One of the first campaign attacks was from Gary Chico against Rahm Emanuel.  He attacked his idea of proposing to slash the Sales Tax by a quarter cent while adding some to luxury services that are not taxed currently, such as limo rides, tanning parlors, charter jet rides, pet grooming, etc. Now Chico came out with saying that this idea was crazy and would really only negatively affect the middle class. Now this was a perfect example of Modern Propaganda because of its use of television, the internet, and citywide campaigning.

               

. reponse to black boy .

                All Righty, Black Boy response.

Well, I have read the whole thing and have got to say, it was good. I will admit it took me a while to get through the whooole book but well worth it. The life of Richard Wright is filled with heartache, sadness, and surprises. The relationships he has with his family is actually very surprising to how upsetting it is. I can recall the part of when Richard and his Grandmother are attending one of the masses. Richard had told his Grandmother something about an angel, but his Grandmother takes it out of context and thinks he SEES an angel. When his Grandmother tells the pastor, Richard is not sure what to do and when he denies having seeing the angel, his Grandmother is devastated and then later Richard can then realizes he is truly dead to her. This really shocked me, I mean I had seen how much his Grandmother really did not like him, but then to see how much more she had not want to speak to him again.  

                The rest of the book also has much of the same things with his Grandmother and aunts and uncles. He struggles with a hard life and never really gets a fulliment out of it. He is always hungry and that was a word that really struck me in the novel. Being hungry was all about Richards’ life because if he was not hungry physically than it was academically or mentally. The overall response to Black boy was it was a good autobiography and thought it was sad and inspiring because in all those problems he managed to get out of it.

. i am hungry .

                Hunger is what is on everyone’s plate. The more we want it the worse the hunger gets. Being hungry can come in all forms, like being hungry for food, the most basic, attention, etc. The one I have recently been exposed to is to attention. Attention is what everyone wants. Look at celebrities! All they want is attention, well most I guess. This is the main reason anyone does anything. For me, I think the hunger for attention can, also, be a hunger for approval and acceptance.

                In the novel, Black Boy, Richard is a 4 year-old boy who likes to stir up trouble and, BOY, does he. This innocent little boy is so hungry for attention from his mother and father, that he does these daring things to get some. One example is, HE SET CURTAINS ON FIRE! He really just wanted to get some attention, but he went very far. He does this knowing he would be punished, but he still went ahead and did it! He knew he wanted attention and he did wrong to get it.

Also, I can really see the hunger for attention when looking at myself. I can admit, I like attention. And sometimes I starve for it. I have moved around a lot in my life and I have had to make a bunch of new friends. Whenever I would make one friend, I felt like I needed to impress their other friends, so I could have them become friends with me. Childish, I know, but hey! I was a child. Moving around was not rough and making friends was a bit. Also, my slight hunger for attention can make me want to over exaggerate things, like some stories I tell, which is not all the time! Also, this is not any more.

                 

. king still king.

  17 January 2011.

This is the day; most students get off to celebrate the birthday of one person who may have well help changed American society. This man is Martin Luther King Jr.; he was part of the biggest Civil Rights Movement of its time. He brought the issue of segregation and prejudice against all colored people in the country to light. Yes, he has influenced and changed our society and the greater, but is he still relevant in this time. Even Jan. 17^th, do people even recognize this as a day to celebrate this great man or to sleep in and watch the morning, afternoon, and evening cartoons?

                I believe that MLK’s ideas are still thought of. Yes, it would be ignorant to say racism and prejudices have ALL disappeared but it has not. We have all learned of him and taught to treat everyone with the same e     quality. Through teaching these morals through him, everyone knew the right and wrong of treating people differently because of their colored skin. His ideas still show us how to be civil in our ways. So yes, I think he is still the relevant, not known by his name maybe, but his ideas are held true. Maybe everyone should actually relearn about him and instead of watching cartoons all day of his birthday, enlighten themselves on the works of Doctor King.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. “

“I have a dream today!”

. children of the sea . edwidge danticat .

Recently reading Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat, it was so good. I think this is mostly coming from someone who really has not read any good stories in a long time. No offense, Mr. McCarthy. The story was between two lovers in the form of letters. They tell of their lives in that time. The guy on the sea trying to seek freedom and the girl living in a horrific Haiti. The country in fear, the guy leaves the country to seek freedom and safety and the girl left behind with a family who did not want to make trouble. How to live in that kind of life? To be in fear of your life every day or to be tortured and harmed horribly? In the letters from the girl to the guy is when she tells of this. I found all these things to be so scary and unrealistic, but after some research, I knew it was. I personally like this type of story. A short story but in dialogue or first person. It makes the story more realistic. This story, even though not coming from a first person experience, showed an amazingly close first experience by how skilled the writer was. To come from two unlike situations and to put them together to give off two different situations, like from on a boat and to be in the middle of a country in crisis. Danticat brilliantly showed how two characters sides and how they were living and opinions they held. All in All, a great great story!

. jay and nick .

                Jay Gatsby and Nick Carroway. In the Great Gatsby, these two are made out to really get along, but in looking deeper, maybe they really are not. Gatsby, firsts becomes in contact with Nick, when he invites him to onw of his extravagant parties. When Nick arrives, Gatsby introduces himself and they become acquainted. It is not until Gatsby finds out Nick is related to Daisy Buchanan, a long lost love of Gatsby, that I start to think hey maybe Gatsby really just wants to start to become close to Nick to get to Daisy! I felt that, wow; maybe Gatsby is a user and is tricking Nick into liking him. I know though Nick isn’t a dumb guy and he would know that Gatsby is using him, and he seems to see that in Chapter 5 at the very end, when he says, “They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn’t know me now at all.” Gatsby was so fixed by being with Daisy again that he did not even look down to wave goodbye to the person who helped him find his way into Daisy’s arms again! Although I did find it strange that later on Nick does say that Gatsby turned out “all right” and I guess he still thought him to be a good person of character, which would be why Nick still had a good relationship with Gatsby. So for me I think that Nick and Gatsby were good friends. I think that Gatsby was using him but he still wanted to be friends with Nick. Kind of hard to figure but that’s what I think is true.