Jillianenglishblog

Judith Ortiz Cofer says,  “The Island travels with you.”  What part of your culture, family, or identity do you feel “travels” with you everywhere you go? Prompt Response:  I think something that follows me where ever I go is probably being adopted. Even though in the story we read her culture is what follows her because people notice it. Mine is not noticeable, but I feel it inside myself everyday. I wonder everyday who I would have been if I stayed with my birth parents and what I would look like. My parents make a good amount of money and I went to private school most my life. My birth mom seems to not make a lot of money and has had some drug related issues. She also posts different beliefs then my parents do and she looks at the world differently. Everyday it follows me that the life I have now is rare and how things could have ended up so differently for me, just because I was chosen by two people. Not only this but I have a half brother out in the world somewhere t...

Prompt: Write about an experience when someone assumed something about you because of a stereotype. What was the situation, and what did you do? Prompt Response:  In middle school I used to wear a lot of makeup. I did it because thats what I thought a girl was supposed to do to herself. No one judges you if you put makeup on because as a girl it is expected. But when I stopped wearing as much makeup in high school people would look at me odd and even my mom would make comments. But I just got tired of feeling gross and dirty with makeup on. I also realized that guys did not wear makeup and it confused me leaving middle school. I realized that girls were expected to look pretty and put together, while boys/men needed to look "tough" and "manly". My mom would make comments like, "why are you not put together?" Which hurt because it made me feel like i looked gross. But then I realized it was not my moms fault that she thought this way. It was societies fault...

Prompt: Describe something you will never fully understand. Prompt Response:  I will never fully understand death. I know I talked about death and the concept of it already, but, I really will never understand it. I don't understand how one day everything in life I have done or completed ends. It makes me think that some things in life really don't mean anything or should not be worried about as much as they are. In school we sit for hours to learn to get somewhere in life, but then we get old and retire and that's it of our lives. Knowing how much I think about death and how much it scares me, I want to have a job/career that I love and know will satisfy me throughout my life. I don't want to die thinking I was wasting my life working a job that made me bored and sad.  Summary: I was not in class today because I do not feel well. But I think most people presented their poems. Reflection: I hope that I feel better so that I can come to school and present my project in t...

Prompt: Write about something that you wish you had more of Prompt Response:  I wish I had more cats. Over the years I have had many cats. I have had 9 cats in my past 14 years. Right now I have 4 cats, Kitkat, Peanut, Bean, and Pickles. I love all of them but I wish I could be covered all night long in cats, they give me so much comfort and they don't stink like dogs do. Cats have always been my favorite animal and a lot of the older cats I had were strays that I rescued. Some of them had medical issues and others were feral. I believe cats have special souls and they are very loving creatures. I will definitely have a lot of cats in my future.  Summary: Today in class I finished my poem/art presentation and watched the Lakeside News.  Reflection:  I really enjoyed making the art visuals in the poem assignment, but I had to get help from my mom with the poem because I have a hard time thinking of how to put poems together. 

 

Prompt: What is the most creative thing you have ever made? Share what it was and explain why it stands out as your best work. Prompt Response:  The most creative thing I have ever made is my dad's father's day gifts. Every year since I could not even walk, I have created a hand print for him. The gifts are an accumulation of my hand since I was little to the age I am now. This gift is my best work for a couple reasons. First, it is a personal and thoughtful gift that I make my own every year. Second, I have made the gifts colors different every single year. This year instead of having a blue hand print like last year, I made the hand print purple and sparkly. Overall, this is for sure my best work because every year it makes my dad's day better.  Summary: Today in class we read "A Korean dream" by Sharon Lee. After we read, we dug deeper into her cultural identity and created our own poems about our cultural identity.  Reflection:  I enjoyed today's class and...

Prompt: Everyone has burning questions about life. Mysteries we wonder about but don’t always have clear answers for. Think about your biggest questions about existence, purpose, or the world around you. Write a blog post where you share at least two of your most burning questions about life and explain why these questions matter to you. Prompt Response:  I wonder about a lot of life and how things work. One of the main things that has confused me is death. I have for around four years now been concerned and confused with death. I have thought about what it might be like, but still cannot fully comprend it. I have thought that it is maybe like anesthesia or like how life was before I was born. Its important to me because what If I die to early and don't everything I want to do. Or what if my mom or dad dies and I am not ready. Another big question I have is why do we have school for 1/4 of our life span. I understand school is important but there has to be a better way in order to ...