It was an interesting ride. To sum it all up, these past four years of my life have been interesting. I remember the first day of high school very clearly. It was actually my 13th birthday on August 27, 2012, so yeah, it was rough becoming a teenager and a freshman on the same day. I got lost about two times that day and I was very frustrated that I knew absolutely no one in three of my four classes. I had heard so many things about what high school would be like from my 8th grade counselors and teachers, and I was very surprised to see that it was not a super fun and exhilarating experience like they all told me it would be. I was bored with high school because I had not found my niche. I was upset and I actually wanted to go back to the familiarity of middle school. Sophomore year was the same, but I actually tried to make an effort to join some clubs and make new friends. I began to feel some more pressure because of my 2 AP classes (OOH) but then, I decided on a cold, uneventful February morning to join the IB programme.
I didn't even know what the heck IB was until I started hearing about it in the beginning of sophomore year. Once I started to look into the programme, I started to grow some interest into it and I said "why not? I'm pretty smart, I've had all A's since 6th grade, and it will look good to colleges." Yes, I was that kid who always thought about what colleges would like, and I still am sometimes. Anyways, I joined it and I actually liked it. I enjoyed the global discussions and lessons we had and I liked that class was not monotonous like AP World or Pre-Calc. I finally found my niche, a group of people who were hard-working and motivated like I was. It was very stressful at times, and it continues to be VERY stress-inducing, as I am getting ready for my 27 hours of exams that start next week. But I'm happy I did it. IB gave me my first B, which I am grateful for. IB gave me my first all-nighter, which I am not so grateful for. But IB gave me a group of friends, a group that I will cherish forever, and I am grateful for that. IB also gave me the opportunity to learn under teachers that make sure us students are learning invaluable lessons, and I am beyond grateful for that.
I stand by my decision to join IB and I know that I would not have become the person I am today if I had not chosen to do it. Thank you IB. :)
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Blog Post #14: Whitman's Journals
1. Immediately, I see the disorganization of the journals. There are poems with revisions, little notes Whitman made to himself, and drawings he drew of himself. I can imagine Whitman sitting around, knowing that the majority of the country was against his ideals, but valiantly writing his own ideas and thoughts without fear. These notes and drawings are varied and they cover several topics from history to different drawings and it seems like he did not want others to make sense of it. His journal was his exclusively and thus, he felt no obligation to conform to a typical style of journal writing or doodling. His poems he wrote out had several phrases added in and omitted from, so it shows that his poems were carefully thought out and not just scrambled together. He paid attention to the details and he even wrote about topics that might not have been included in his editions of Leaves of Grass. According to the intro from The New York Times, this particular journal was written in 1860 and 1861, so this was at the cusp of the Civil War. The themes of disorganization, confusion and frenzy are definitely reflected in the structure and content of the journal.
2. After reading the analysis, I can actually see some sense in his notes and his handwriting. With newfound knowledge that he is writing a conversation between him and Abraham Lincoln, I can ascertain some meaning in what he is saying. This makes me more appreciative of Whitman because he is very creative in his method of sharing out his ideas. To publish an imaginary conversation with the President would have been radical but effective. People would have been more inclined to see how Whitman depicted the President and the manner of their conversation. Another theme prominent in these journals is universal brotherhood, because of his notes about having a third religion that is better than the two religions warring (alluding to the North and South). He also included a poem about Libertad, which has roots in Latin America. At first, I thought that Whitman himself drew the doodles in the latter pages of the journal. After reading that his friends and acquaintances actually did the drawings, I realized that Whitman wanted to see how others perceived him. Even though they become less realistic, they still show how Whitman was viewed by the artists.
2. After reading the analysis, I can actually see some sense in his notes and his handwriting. With newfound knowledge that he is writing a conversation between him and Abraham Lincoln, I can ascertain some meaning in what he is saying. This makes me more appreciative of Whitman because he is very creative in his method of sharing out his ideas. To publish an imaginary conversation with the President would have been radical but effective. People would have been more inclined to see how Whitman depicted the President and the manner of their conversation. Another theme prominent in these journals is universal brotherhood, because of his notes about having a third religion that is better than the two religions warring (alluding to the North and South). He also included a poem about Libertad, which has roots in Latin America. At first, I thought that Whitman himself drew the doodles in the latter pages of the journal. After reading that his friends and acquaintances actually did the drawings, I realized that Whitman wanted to see how others perceived him. Even though they become less realistic, they still show how Whitman was viewed by the artists.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Blog Post #13: The American Dream
The American Dream is a far-fetched dream that people can strive for, but never really achieve. We defined the American Dream in class one day as something along the lines of "working hard to gain materialistic wealth and success..." The thing is, lots of people come to America in search of this materialistic form of wealth and never achieve it. Exhibit A: my own parents. My dad came to America in 1987 in search of a better life from his banking job in Bangladesh. Instead, he came to an unknown country with few friends and had to work odd jobs, such as being a line cook and a taxi driver, to maintain some source of income in New York. He also lived in a one room apartment in Queens with two other Bengali friends. It wasn't until he got married with my mom and moved to North Carolina that he got a steady job and moved up the management ladder to become a banquet manager at the Crabtree Marriott. My family is in the middle class, and that was definitely not my dad's initial dream. No one dreams of being a middle class American; because of the superficiality of the American Dream, they dream of being rich and living large and having whatever they want at their disposal.
My definition of wealth is having enough money and resources to not worry about bills or finances. Until that basic need of money is satisfied, my definition of wealth cannot change into something more sophisticated, like having an abundance of intellect. Society has placed such an importance on money that it is difficult to be happy until they are well off. Someone can have a dream job that does not pay a lot, but that person will always have a worry in the back of his/her mind about the bills or the rent. Until that worry is no longer present, it's going to be really hard for one to be truly happy. Lots of children claim they want to be doctors, lawyers and architects when they grow up because they know that it pays well to be one of those high-profile jobs. Even when those children do grow up, rarely do they say they want to become a social worker or a clinical psychologist because these jobs do not come with a big paycheck. Society has indoctrinated the idea that wealth is the only answer to a good life and thus, people only aspire for big, high-paying jobs as dream jobs.
My definition of wealth is having enough money and resources to not worry about bills or finances. Until that basic need of money is satisfied, my definition of wealth cannot change into something more sophisticated, like having an abundance of intellect. Society has placed such an importance on money that it is difficult to be happy until they are well off. Someone can have a dream job that does not pay a lot, but that person will always have a worry in the back of his/her mind about the bills or the rent. Until that worry is no longer present, it's going to be really hard for one to be truly happy. Lots of children claim they want to be doctors, lawyers and architects when they grow up because they know that it pays well to be one of those high-profile jobs. Even when those children do grow up, rarely do they say they want to become a social worker or a clinical psychologist because these jobs do not come with a big paycheck. Society has indoctrinated the idea that wealth is the only answer to a good life and thus, people only aspire for big, high-paying jobs as dream jobs.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Blog Post #11: Practice IOC
Link to the audio: https://sites.google.com/site/practiceioc/practice-ioc
Criterion A: 6/10- The knowledge of the text is there, but the examples used could have been better and there could have been more examples to justify the claims.
Criterion B: 5/10- The literary features are stated but they could have been expanded on and related back to the author's purpose.
Criterion C: 4/5- The organization is clear and laid out in the beginning of the IOC and the use of topic sentences helped with the organization.
Criterion D: 3/5- There were lots of pauses and the vocabulary was not as sophisticated; the grammar was adequate but not accurate 100% of the time.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Blog Post #9: The Art of Storytelling
Here is the link to this awesome TED talk by Ric Elias.
This short yet insightful TED talk is about what Elias experienced and thought about while his plane was emergency landing into the Hudson River. He discusses three major points and relates it back to his life before and after the crash. He wants others to go through the same revelations he had without the need for such a catastrophic event. He goes through his three things he learned (it all changes in an instant; in my humanity, I also allow my ego to get in; and the only goal I have in life is to be a good dad), making sure to provide context and guide the audience along the way.
The first important thing Elias does, as any successful storyteller does, is provide context. The visual and auditory imagery he uses is very powerful. His first words immediately entice the audience: "Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary." He also addresses this scenario with a casual demeanor; his posture is relaxed and he says such serious words with a carefree tone, lightening the situation and making the audience comfortable with the content. He then guides the audience through his realizations and he continually reminds the audience of the context of his three revelations (again, very effective storytelling). He definitely establishes ethos and pathos within the first minute of his talk. He has a lot of credibility because he was in such a terrifying situation that not many people ever experience in their lives. The way that Elias puts the audience in his own situation develops his pathos. His use of real life scenarios that can apply to anyone in the audience makes them even more invested in his words. Pathos is the basis for his entire TED talk and he effectively develops it.
This talk resonated with me because it made me empathize with Elias' situation. At the end of his talk, he encourages the audience to imagine if we were in his shoes, and I did. If I were in a scenario similar to his, where I could die at any second, I would not know what to do or how to think. I would probably feel regret about not being able to accomplish as much as I could have or I would have begun to feel remorse about not being able to say any final words to my loved ones. This also made me realize that these kinds of realizations should not be a result of something so terrible; instead, they should be principles on which we base our actions and thoughts around.
This short yet insightful TED talk is about what Elias experienced and thought about while his plane was emergency landing into the Hudson River. He discusses three major points and relates it back to his life before and after the crash. He wants others to go through the same revelations he had without the need for such a catastrophic event. He goes through his three things he learned (it all changes in an instant; in my humanity, I also allow my ego to get in; and the only goal I have in life is to be a good dad), making sure to provide context and guide the audience along the way.
The first important thing Elias does, as any successful storyteller does, is provide context. The visual and auditory imagery he uses is very powerful. His first words immediately entice the audience: "Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary." He also addresses this scenario with a casual demeanor; his posture is relaxed and he says such serious words with a carefree tone, lightening the situation and making the audience comfortable with the content. He then guides the audience through his realizations and he continually reminds the audience of the context of his three revelations (again, very effective storytelling). He definitely establishes ethos and pathos within the first minute of his talk. He has a lot of credibility because he was in such a terrifying situation that not many people ever experience in their lives. The way that Elias puts the audience in his own situation develops his pathos. His use of real life scenarios that can apply to anyone in the audience makes them even more invested in his words. Pathos is the basis for his entire TED talk and he effectively develops it.
This talk resonated with me because it made me empathize with Elias' situation. At the end of his talk, he encourages the audience to imagine if we were in his shoes, and I did. If I were in a scenario similar to his, where I could die at any second, I would not know what to do or how to think. I would probably feel regret about not being able to accomplish as much as I could have or I would have begun to feel remorse about not being able to say any final words to my loved ones. This also made me realize that these kinds of realizations should not be a result of something so terrible; instead, they should be principles on which we base our actions and thoughts around.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Blog Post #8: Who do you think the heroes are, baby
Blog Post #8: Double Indemnity
4. In your mind, are there any heroes in Double Indemnity? If so, who?
The only hero in Double Indemnity is the supporting character, the smart and witty insurance broker Keyes. Walter Neff is most definitely not a hero in this movie. On a superficial level, he is smart and suave with women ("That's a honey of an anklet you're wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson" ;) ); but later, he becomes susceptible to persuasion and he becomes mercurial when faced with danger. Essentially, he is Macbeth, who relies on another person for guidance and support until he decides to do something rash and bold, like bail out on the original plan and kill Phyllis to save himself. He is the opposite of virtuous because he does not think to plead guilty; instead he wants to tie up all loose ends and escape. The director also made sure to use the Venetian-blind prison bar illusion technique on him, insinuating that he should not be idolized.
If Walter is Macbeth, Keyes resembles Malcolm and Macduff. He is the only one who retains his good character and he has no facade to hide his true self. He is honest and blunt and he represents the ethical and virtuous. He uses the law as guidelines and there are no instances of him straying from his moral code, even when he finds out that Walter is the man behind the murder and scheming. He always operates on a level head because he is so knowledgeable in his field and he has a sharp mind that can see the murder of Mr. Dietrichson for what it really is. Also, he is never near any windows, so the audience knows he can be considered a trustworthy character.
4. In your mind, are there any heroes in Double Indemnity? If so, who?
The only hero in Double Indemnity is the supporting character, the smart and witty insurance broker Keyes. Walter Neff is most definitely not a hero in this movie. On a superficial level, he is smart and suave with women ("That's a honey of an anklet you're wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson" ;) ); but later, he becomes susceptible to persuasion and he becomes mercurial when faced with danger. Essentially, he is Macbeth, who relies on another person for guidance and support until he decides to do something rash and bold, like bail out on the original plan and kill Phyllis to save himself. He is the opposite of virtuous because he does not think to plead guilty; instead he wants to tie up all loose ends and escape. The director also made sure to use the Venetian-blind prison bar illusion technique on him, insinuating that he should not be idolized.
If Walter is Macbeth, Keyes resembles Malcolm and Macduff. He is the only one who retains his good character and he has no facade to hide his true self. He is honest and blunt and he represents the ethical and virtuous. He uses the law as guidelines and there are no instances of him straying from his moral code, even when he finds out that Walter is the man behind the murder and scheming. He always operates on a level head because he is so knowledgeable in his field and he has a sharp mind that can see the murder of Mr. Dietrichson for what it really is. Also, he is never near any windows, so the audience knows he can be considered a trustworthy character.
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