School is finally over

I don't know how I feel about this. I have been waiting since freshman year to be a senior and now as a senior I have been waiting to get out of Buckley and explore college and my life beyond Buckley. However, I really thought about it and it is also really sad to be leaving Buckley because this whole school is interconnected and in no way will I be able to be so close to a certain group of people. Everyone here is friends with each other. In college I know that I will not be able to experience the same thing. I think that it took my whole high school career to realize that Buckley is something that I will look back upon and appreciate.

Osama

First of all why is everyone congratulating Obama for the death of Osama? I don't get it, it's like America thinks Obama was the one who nailed Osama with the headshot. We have to thank our Navy Seals for doing such an amazing job. All Obama did was give the OK and then watch it on HDTV like he was playing Call of Duty Black Ops. You know what, we live in a bipolar society one second everyone is like we hate Obama or Obama is the worst president or all time and the next second everyone loves Obama because the Navy Seals had a successful mission. I am astonished by how uneducated most of American society is. It took 10 years to kills Osama, I say that took us long enough it took 2 presidents to finally catch Osama Bin Laden. However, I am glad that Osama is finally dead. But, I am also scared that Al Qaeda will now strike back to avenge their fallen leader. Thank you Obama for giving the OK but America is in debt to our truly amazing Navy Seals for killing Osama.

APs

The last few days of my high school career are coming to an end and instead of happily celebrating the Lakers have been swept and I have APs to study for. I do care about my APs and I want college credit so I need to do well. I thoroughly wish that I did not have APs and I could really enjoy the last few days of high school but to my demise that is not so. However, I really embrace these APs and do very well so I will get credit in college and I can enjoy my first days of College. I feel that doing well on APs is a good thing because college life will be much more stress free for me and for the hundreds of thousands of high school students just like me.

College

Our next four years... Do these next four years determine the rest of our lives? Does the prestige of the college really matter? Well, I think not because people could go to Harvard and completely screw up their whole lives whereas others could go to less prestigious schools and be at the top of their class and graduate with honors and go to amazing MBA schools, law, or med schools. Anything is possible, these next four years do not determine the rest of anyone's life and what determines your life is what you make of the education and the school. Anyone has the ability to succeed and can do great things without going to a top undergraduate college. What really matters is if you love the school and what you do with your time there. If you did not get into the school of your dreams, do not crawl up in a hole and just result to complaining and downgrading the school you will be going to but be optimistic and look forward to your college.

Facebook

Facebook started out as just a social website like friendster or myspace. However, it has now become a billion dollar company. Well, people may ask how? The answer is that Facebook is neat, clean and very easy to use. Facebook is addicting because humans love gossip and love to know what is going on in everyone's life and Facebook lets people do so. Facebook has also elevated to helping people get their name out of even helping people's health. Vin Diesel said in an interview that Facebook help him quit smoking, his girlfriend bet him that if he reached a certain amount of friends he would have to quit smoking. Facebook is doing wonders in this world today and even to a certain extent has taken over the lives of tweens, teens, and even adults alike.

Dr. 90210

Plastic surgery is a person's way of looking like someone else and changing what God gave them. Many people think that looks mean everything and that they need to change how they look or they will not be accepted and well liked. Everyone wants to look good and thinks that with looks comes success. Well, the solution to those people's problems is plastic surgery. The show on TV called Dr. 90210 is all about how humans want to alter how they look because they are not satisfied. Plastic Surgery is similar to Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy because the girl in Barbie Doll wants to change how she looks and wishes she was like a Barbie so it would be very easy to look different. However, she is not Barbie and is not able to change how she looks and ends up dying. Plastic Surgery could be the solution to her problems or actually be the cause of her death. Plastic Surgery can get addicting and in the end may change how you look entirely just like Heidi Montag and when someone undergoes such a vast operation they may as well be dead because they no longer look like how they did before.

Lasers

Lupe Fiasco's new album Lasers (backronym for Love Always Shines Everytime, Remember 2 Smile) is utterly amazing. I could listen to it everyday. When Lupe Fiasco was making this album he was forced to conform to the record label and make songs the label wanted. The heads at Atlantic Records wanted him to make mainstream songs that will top the billboards, but Lupe just wanted to rap and be himself. He wanted to make music that was him and not commercial music. Some sources say that Lupe was almost suicidal because the label forced him to release an album for commercial purposes and to rack in money. Lupe did not want a album that is to please the whole public but to please his loyal fans that want true "Lupe" rapping. Lupe was forced to conform to the label. Lupe just like Gregor in Metamorphosis succumbed to the giant of conformity. Conformity is intimidating and really took a hold of Lupe, and causing him to breakdown and become almost suicidal. Furthermore, thank god he did not commit suicide because that would be the loss of a great artist in the Hip Hop industry and would leave many true fans, including myself, in sorrow. Lasers is available everywhere and many people have probably heard the track: The Show Goes On.

Intro

Unlike Kafka's Conformist world in Metamorphosis, life before Mao zedong was good and there was nothing to worry about. But, after Mao came to power it was an ideal conformist society in China. Cultural revolution took over everyone’s life. My grandmother went through this change she went through total redistribution of wealth. My grandmother grew up as a rebel. She was the one of her 6 sisters who would always defy the rules of her family; she had a pixie cut, which at the time and even now is seen as a very risky haircut. My grandmother was a tomboy in a time when girls were supposed to act like girls. She was truly a rebel and although she grew up in Communist China, she had a liberal view on how she wanted to live. My grandma was the opposite of Gregor, she did not let conformity take over her life and ruin her life. She made the best out of what she had and went against Maoist China. My grandmother was a pioneer and a rebel of her time. Conformity only takes a hold of those who give into it, as long as one is strong and fight off confinement he/she will never have to meet Gregor's demise.

Essay

My grandma grew up in conformist china but she was a rebel. I would like to juxtapose her life to Gregor's. Gregor submitted to conformity but my grandma was the polar opposite. She did everything she could to go against conformity from haircut and how she dressed to how she was in school. I am going to interview my grandma and take Kafka's metamorphosis to compare what she says in her interview to how Gregor is.

Kafka

1. It was not at all how I portrayed Gregor to be. I saw Gregor as having a face similar to that of a human. But this graphic novel truly made him seem like an insect and having no human qualities whatsoever. The graphic novel did portray the dad brilliantly though and also did show the rest of the people as how I would  have seen it.

2. Kuper does a great job with Gregor. Gregor has a human like face and looks just like I had him portrayed in my mind. Kuper really does a good job with "Metamorphosis" and really not just capturing the  physical features but also the emotional aspect. Each character really seems like how Kafka would have seen it. I loved Kuper's graphic novel.

Class experience

I loved how the class really thrived in conversation and EVERYONE in class participated. The fact that everybody participated was amazing because it's not every time that everyone participates. I learned a lot more from a group discussion like that then I would have on my own. I really enjoyed initiating a lot of conversations and especially commenting and having intellectual discussions with my peers. I enjoyed yesterday's class very much I hope to do it again soon.

paragraph

Colors can usually depict good or evil. However, In “Heart of Darkness” colors are interchangeably used to demonstrate what is bad. Normally, white, is a sign of savior and black is a sign of death. Conrad’s use of these colors is parallel with the theme of the novel because his mixed use of these colors leaves the reader confused and that is ultimately what Conrad wants. Conrad uses colors to strengthen his story and the confusion of it. His use of black and white is a true reflection of his main theme because it is very confusing and misleading.

11

Marlow admires Kurtz's ability to adapt and survive in Africa. However, Marlow does not appreciate Kurt'z insane and outlandish methods. Kurtz has learned to become one with the African people and has learned to be apart of life there. He uses brutality to survive but it works and Marlow is truly attracted to Kurtz's innate ability to live in Africa. Marlow almost wishes that he has Kurtz's gift of being able to survive.

Essay

In Conrad's Heart of Darkness imperialism is a very dark and evil. The colonial rule has brought nothing but pain upon Africa. Africa is not at all helped by British rule. British rule is known as the "white fog" because although white is supposed to represent good, the fog makes the good seem fake. The British came to Africa for only economic reasons not to help Africa; therefore, they bring pain upon Africa.

Pyschological

Conrad's depiction of Marlow's diminishing consciousness in The Heart of Darkness is reflected through the savagery and uncivilized conduct in the Congo. Marlow shows morals in the beginning but as he treks through the Congo he is not able to hold onto his morals. The experience in the Congo leads Marlow to question everything he believed in due to the putrid conditions of the Congo from British colonization. When Marlow is around civilized people he behaves in a likewise manner; however, the more time he spends in the Congo the more uncivilized he becomes because his understanding of humanity is challenged. Conrad suggests that the way an individual acts is a reflection of his surroundings. And the more time he spends in the Congo the more disconnected he is from the civilized outside world.

6

The painting evinces the dark intentions of Britain's colonization of Africa. The black and gloomy background is a representation of the rural Africa before colonial rule. Moreover, the woman, who seems to have a sinister approach looks as if she is going to conquer the light with her lit torch. This light represents British colonial rule. Marlow sees Britain's colonization in a negative light because rather than bettering Africa Britain is colonizing Africa for economic profit. The light is misleading because it is not seen as something positive here; however, Marlow uses light as the darkness of British rule because instead of helping Africa they only care about reaping monetary benefits from Africa.

Heart of Darkness

Marlow starts off his tale in the fashion of bringing up London so that he could link English Colonization in parts of Africa to London in times of Roman power. Although both of them not at all similar, Marlow evinces the want for power of the English in Africa and the Romans in London. Marlow interlinks London and Africa because he is foreshadowing that the horrible things that happened in London will soon be shown in Africa.