Final Reflective Essay .

When I started having this blog, I struggled with many things. Whether it was what my next topic would be, how I could make my blog posts sound more interesting, having writer’s blocks, and many more things similar to these. As I wrote more and more blogs, I started to realize that blogging is a way to express my self. I do not need to make every single one of my posts interesting, because I am just expressing my self. Blogging has become one of my ways to express my feelings.

4. In what ways do writing response posts to classmates' blogs help me become a better writer, reader, or thinker? Are there other ways in which my classmates' blogs help me learn?
As I wrote more and more blog posts that were related to me, I also started blogging about my class mate and blog posts that are related to them. So when I started writing response blog posts, it helped me become a better writer, reader, and even thinker.  And that is because it made me think more, and as I think more, I wrote more. And as a result of writing more, I have became a better writer because as I wrote more, I knew how to deal with ways when I have writer’s blocks. I knew what to do when I did not know what to write. And what I did was keep on writing, do not stop. That is because if I continue writing and writing, I know ideas will come up in my mind, and I will get inspired and write better things and ideas.
Although I still get stuck when I write ( writer’s block happening right now right now ! ) but I knew how to deal with it now.

In addition, reading my classmates’ blogs made me learn more, it made me learn more about themselves.  For instance I noticed that a lot of classmates have a lot of things to say about Justin Bieber. Karen C. loves Justin Bieber so much that she wants to start a club just FOR HIM and the people that loves Justin Bieber. This is what she said “We are going to have a Justin Bieber club. We decided to have a club about him specifically because he is super cute and talented. He deserves to have a fan club. If you love Justin Bieber whether it's for his personality ,cuteness, or his singing you should join this club.”

Not only Karen loves him, but many of my classmates do too. Like Billy, he loves Justin Bieber, and wants to defend for him , this is what billy said on his post  “I really need to talk about something VERY important. Everyone knows who Justin Bieber, but why does everyone hate him. Mr. Bieber is a regular normal teenager (just like all of us) who has an amazing voice and is very popular” After I read this post of Billy about Justin Bieber, I learned that Billy wrote this post not only to show his love for Justin Bieber but also to defend for him. He listed the reasons why people hate him , and also had a comeback to those reasons that people think of Justin Bieber.
Lastly, reading my classmates’ blogs made me learn a lot from them, but writing a response post back to their blog posts, it helped me express my true self too.  I wrote a particular response blog post about an online social network, its FACEBOOK. In the blog post, I responded to Andy L., he wrote a blog post about Facebook, and so I wrote back a response blog post. In this response blog post about Facebook, it showed what I think of Facebook. The following is what I said in my response post: “Facebook can be addicting  yet boring at the same time. Though I said it is boring, yet I find myself going on that website everyday. Facebook is a addiction and also a distraction. “  This blog post shows that I am someone that procrastinates a lot, because of Facebook addiction.

 In conclusion, based on the blogs I have written so far,  I came up with a few goals. My writing or blog posting goals for my blogging is to have and writing better or coming up with more creative topics to write on my blog. This is important to me because not only that my classmates can read this blog, other people from other countries are reading it too. When I went to my blogging stats, I noticed that most of my audience are from United States, however interestingly, 63 are from Slovenia, and 12 from Russia, and a few other numbers from other countries. Besides that, my other goal is it that I want to change my working methods, and that is I should not procrastinate, and having to do my blog on the last minute. This means that not to post up blog posts on the last ,day, hour,minute, or even second. To end my habit of doing my blog at the last minute, I should start on my blog entries before the day it is due, so people can get ideas from it and write it on their blogs. My last goal is to not write so much even though we need at least 350 words on each blog posts. What I mean by “less is more” is less repeated words or ideas in the post. But have more creative ideas in it instead, and stronger ideas. What I should do to accomplish my goals I listed above it to is to always re-read my post before posting it up, and after reading it I should edit it, like take out the stuff I don’t need in there. Although, blogging is sharing my feelings to the whole world, it gave me experiences of knowing how to blog better. I do not think I will continue blogging for other uses other than homework.  And that is because the only reason that I blogged was because I was getting graded on it.

Book Review : The Smart One And The Pretty One .

In the book called “The smart one and the pretty one,” by the author named Claire LaZebnik talks about two main characters, Ava Nickerson and Lauren Nickerson. Two sisters who look alike but couldn’t be more different. Ava Nickerson is a smart and accomplished lawyer. She takes pride in her work and could care less about fashion and beauty.Lauren Nickerson works in a shop and takes pride in being beautiful, loving fashion and cares a great deal about appearance.

Ava and Lauren are sisters that lived separately in their lives until recently, Lauren, the pretty one, moved back from New York to LA into their parents house. While, on the other hand, Ava is independent, and also is a lawyer. Although both of them are siblings, there are many differences between the two, such as their personalities, styles of clothing, views on relationships, responsibilities and many other more.

There is one specific quote in the book that shows who Ava and Lauren are. Lauren said out loud, “You’re the important lawyer who knows about contracts and never gets into debt. I am the loser sister.” (page 33) This quote demonstrates that Lauren is buried in debts,  which also shows that she is not responsibility because she owes a lot of debts. Lauren owes so much debts that she has to move back and live with her family again. Lauren is also a person that buys a lot of things which led her into burring in debts. In addition, this shows Lauren has low confidence in her self. She called herself a loser, if she was confident and proud she would not have called herself that...

On the other hand, Ava is totally different. Ava is a lawyer, she is the successful one comparing to Lauren, that is also why Lauren lost confident because she has a sister that is so successful unlike herself. Although Ava is successful in her career, she is not so successful in relationships, or dating guys. Unlike Ava, Lauren has tons of experiences from her ex boyfriends, while Ava only had 1-2 boyfriends.

As the book titled said, “The Smart And Pretty One,” obviously Ava who is successful lawyer but does not have so many experiences with guys or men is the smart one. On contrast, Lauren the pretty one, spends all her money on clothes, makeups and stuff, which made her into owing lots of debts, however she has many experiences with men.

The book titled, The Smart One And the Pretty One is by the author named Claire LaZebnik. When I first saw the title and the front cover of the book, i thought that this kind of book is going to be about teen girls, and their lives in school or what so ever. However, as I started reading it, I was totally wrong. This book is about two mid - aged women, that are siblings. In addition their sisterly relationship. This is a book about the stories of both of their lives. And the times when they were in conflicts, fun, and hardships.  

So as I was saying this book is about two sisters, Lauren And Ava. So i believe the purpose of this book is about the relationship between two sisters, and how through the support of one and another, they complete their goals and other stuff. On page 52 “ I need a debt counselor and you need a boyfriend.” lauren said. “ we are both just trying to help each other out. thats what sisters do, right.”  This quote right here is saying that lauren is in deep debt, while ava is lonely without a boyfriend. However, with each others help, the problem is solved. Laauren found a debt counselor, and thanks to lauren, Ava found a boyfriend.

Peer Review Comments .

For Elizabeth : .after reading your rough draft of the book review, I think your book is weird but interesting at the same time !! it interested me into wanting to read this book too [: 
Although you said that you are not finish with the draft of the book review, I think there are few things you can add onto to make your draft longer. After reading your draft, I noticed that you do not have any quotes, so to make your draft longer, you could of added some quotes. Also, can you give more explanation or description of what the village "bad ass" is like? 


For fermin : after reading your review on your book, it also interested me into reading this book. I also like how you related this book to the child called it. Also you said "The other book that i read from the same 
author is Brothers in Arms. Both of these books share many similarities. They both have the same plot, violence in the conflict and there’s always the main character has a hard time staying safe everyday"  <---  I think you should add on to this, you should list more 
similarities and go into depth more, because its just too little. ADD MORE !


For ivan: to begin, your book review's length is too short, remember it has to be at least 1000 words.  also,  you said that "When Tess was introduced, her character seems to be a cold-hearted person with one specific purpose in life. Tess held a purpose she was determined to accomplish, without allowing any interference." so you said tess only help one purpose in life. what is that purpose ? i think you should elaborate what the purpose is. but over all, good job. 

The Smart One And The Pretty One : Book Review RD .

In the book called “The smart on and the pretty one,” by the author named Claire LaZebnik talks about two main characters, Ava Nickerson and Lauren Nickerson. Two sisters who look alike but couldn’t be more different. Ava Nickerson is a smart and accomplished lawyer. She takes pride in her work and could care less about fashion and beauty.Lauren Nickerson works in a shop and takes pride in being beautiful, loving fashion and cares a great deal about appearance.

Ava and Lauren are sisters that lived separately in their lives until recently, Lauren, the pretty one, moved back from New York to LA into their parents house. While, on the other hand, Ava is independent, and also is a lawyer. Although both of them are siblings, there are many differences between the two, such as their personalities, styles of clothing, views on relationships, responsibilities and many other more.

There is one specific quote in the book that shows who Ava and Lauren are. Lauren said out loud, “You’re the important lawyer who knows about contracts and never gets into debt. I am the loser sister.” (page 33) This quote demonstrates that Lauren is buried in debts,  which also shows that she is not responsibility because she owes a lot of debts. Lauren owes so much debts that she has to move back and live with her family again. Lauren is also a person that buys a lot of things which led her into burring in debts. In addition, this shows Lauren has low confidence in her self. She called herself a loser, if she was confident and proud she would not have called herself that...

On the other hand, Ava is totally different. Ava is a lawyer, she is the successful one comparing to Lauren, that is also why Lauren lost confident because she has a sister that is so successful unlike herself. Although Ava is successful in her career, she is not so successful in relationships, or dating guys. Unlike Ava, Lauren has tons of experiences from her ex boyfriends, while Ava only had 1-2 boyfriends.

As the book titled said, “The Smart And Pretty One,” obviously Ava who is successful lawyer but does not have so many experiences with guys or men is the smart one. On contrast, Lauren the pretty one, spends all her money on clothes, makeups and stuff, which made her into owing lots of debts, however she has many experiences with men.

The book titled, The Smart One And the Pretty One is by the author named Claire LaZebnik. When I first saw the title and the front cover of the book, i thought that this kind of book is going to be about teen girls, and their lives in school or what so ever. However, as I started reading it, I was totally wrong. This book is about two mid - aged women, that are siblings. In addition their sisterly relationship. This is a book about the stories of both of their lives. And the times when they were in conflicts, fun, and hardships.  

So as I was saying this book is about two sisters, Lauren And Ava. So i believe the purpose of this book is about the relationship between two sisters, and how through the support of one and another, they complete their goals and other stuff. On page 52 “ I need a debt counselor and you need a boyfriend.” lauren said. “ we are both just trying to help each other out. thats what sisters do, right.”  This quote right here is saying that lauren is in deep debt, while ava is lonely without a boyfriend. However, with each others help, the problem is solved. Laauren found a debt counselor, and thanks to lauren, Ava found a boyfriend.

The Smart One And The Pretty One :

1. What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell? How well was this purpose achieved?

Hint: If your book has an introduction, it's a good place to look for direct clues about the book's intended purpose and good quotes to include in your review.

The book titled, The Smart One And the Pretty One is by the author named Claire LaZebnik. When I first saw the title and the front cover of the book, i thought that this kind of book is going to be about teen girls, and their lives in school or what so ever. However, as I started reading it, I was totally wrong. This book is about two mid - aged women, that are siblings. In addition their sisterly relationship. This is a book about the stories of both of their lives. And the times when they were in conflicts, fun, and hardships.  

So as I was saying this book is about two sisters, Lauren And Ava. So i believe the purpose of this book is about the relationship between two sisters, and how through the support of one and another, they complete their goals and other stuff. On page 52 “ I need a debt counslor and you need a boyfriend.” lauren said. “ we are both just trying to help each other out. thats what sisters do, right.”  This quote right here is saying that lauren is in deep debt, while ava is lonely without a boyfriend. However, with each others help, the problem is solved. Laauren found a debt counselor, and thanks to lauren, Ava found a boyfriend.

In conclusion, through the support of one and another, we can accomplish anything. Just like ava and Lauren.

The Smart One And The Pretty One : Ava & Lauren .

In the book called “The smart on and the pretty one,” by the author named Claire LaZebnik talks about two main characters, Ava and Lauren. Ava and Lauren are sisters that lived separately in their lives until recently, Lauren, the pretty one, moved back from New York to LA into their parents house. While, on the other hand, Ava is independent, and also is a lawyer. Although both of them are siblings, there are many differences between the two, such as their personalities, styles of clothing, views on relationships, responsibilities and many other more.

There is one specific quote in the book that shows who Ava and Lauren are. Lauren said out loud, “You’re the important lawyer who knows about contracts and never gets into debt. I am the loser sister.” (page 33) This quote demonstrates that Lauren is buried in debts,  which also shows that she is not responsibility because she owes a lot of debts. Lauren owes so much debts that she has to move back and live with her family again. Lauren is also a person that buys a lot of things which led her into burring in debts. In addition, this shows Lauren has low confidence in her self. She called herself a loser, if she was confident and proud she would not have called herself that...

On the other hand, Ava is totally different. Ava is a lawyer, she is the successful one comparing to Lauren, that is also why Lauren lost confident because she has a sister that is so successful unlike herself. Although Ava is successful in her career, she is not so successful in relationships, or dating guys. Unlike Ava, Lauren has tons of experiences from her ex boyfriends, while Ava only had 1-2 boyfriends.

As the book titled said, “The Smart And The Pretty One,” obviously Ava who is successful lawyer but does not have so many experiences with guys or men is the smart one. On contrast, Lauren the pretty one, spends all her money on clothes, makeups and stuff, which made her into owing lots of debts, however she has many experiences with men.

How We Write Is Who We Are .

After looking over most of the vignettes that people wrote,  I saw many interesting ones that talked about their lives, names families, personalities, and many other mores.  As I was reading through the vignettes, I saw some that interest me to write about it. I think Alex N. and Bianca’s vignettes that talked about their hand writings as well as their family’s members is really interesting.

I agree that every one's handwriting is different and unique in its own way because it is kind of impossible to have the same handwriting as other family members in your family. My handwriting can be neat when I have to time to write neat, or I would write neat for a in class essay, so it would be easy to read. Plus, and in projects. My mom and dad’s handwriting are relatively big in size, while my mom’s handwriting is slanted with a hook and the last word of her sentence, my dad’s handwriting is a mixture of capital letters and lower case too. At the same time, my sister’s handwriting is like any other little kid’s handwrtings.

Just like in Alex and Bianca’s vignettes, they both discussed about the differences of handwriting in their dads, moms, and sisters.

In Alex’s vignette, he started by talking about his dad then later moved onto the rest of his family. I noticed that in this particular vignette, he uses handwritings to  describe the personalities of his family
“My Dad’s handwriting looks like quick scratch, where every word seems to blend together, but surprisingly it is still readable. My Dad’s messy handwriting is derived from the thousands of papers my Dad has written due to the fact that he is a lawyer.”
In this quote, Alex is trying to say that because of the job his dad has, as a lawyer, he needs to be constantly taking notes of the opposing side. As a result, he has to write fast, and because of that he writes messily.
On the other hand, Bianca describes her sister’s handwriting as a mood changer.
“If she is wide awake, her letters are the same size, each in an orderly manner. If she is bored it starts to slant over like our mother's. If she is in a rush, the letters grow bigger and bigger.”
This is similar to Alex’s dad’s handwriting because Alex’s dad is often in a rush, and has to write messily, and when Bianca’s sister is in a rush, she writes big.

The House On Mango Street: Boys & Girls .

After reading The House on Mango Street, I believe the author, Sandra Cisneros believes that both girls and boys should be treated and raised differently, and she also points out that girls should be raised to be tougher than boys. Sandra Cisneros answered the question of should parents should treat their boys and girls differently by stating them indirectly in some of her vignettes.

Sandra Cisneros answered the question on gender differences in the vignette titled, “Boys and Girls.” In this vignette, the narrator, Esperanza described both boys and girls such as her brothers and her sister. Esperanza said, “Nenny is too young to be my friend. She is just my sister and that was not my fault... She can not play with those Vargas kids or she will turn out just like them. And since she comes right after me, she is my responsibility.” (page 8) This particular quote demonstrates that Nenny is younger than Esperanza, so Esperanza can not be Nenny’s friend. Since, it is not her job to be her friend, it is her job to take care of her, watch after her, and be responsible for her actions. So that proves that Cisneros believes that parents need their older girls to be responsible for their younger siblings. This is important because if Esperanza does not watch after Nenny, Nenny might become one of those “Vargas kids” which is a bad reputation to the family.  

In additionally,  Sandra Cisneros also believe that girls should be the one to step in when their family has problems. In the vignette, “ Alicia Who Sees Mice,” this vignette talks about her friend or neighbor, Alicia. Alicia is someone that is afraid of four legs animals and her own father. Alicia is also someone that lost her mother, and she has to step in and be the mother of her siblings, instead of her father, because they believe girls should be tough, strong, and independent. This is evidenced, when Esperanza narrated, “Close your eyes and they will go away, her father says, or You’re just imagining.” (31) This portrays that Alicia’s father is telling Alicia to be tough, and not be scared of anything, to overcome her fears so she can handle the family. In addition, Alicia has to be responsible for her sibling's lunch. “Alicia, whose mama died, is sorry there is no one older to rise and make the lunchbox tortillas.”(31) This shows that since Alicia’s  mom passed away, it is her responsibility to make the food for the family, which means to be in her mother’s place.  This proves that Sandra Cisneros think girls in the family should be the one to step in and take care of the family.

The House On Mango Street: Esperanza's Future .

After reading The House on Mango Street written by the author, Sandra Cisneros, I predict Esperanza left her house on Mango Street, as well as in her future, she became a writer. In the book, Esperanza always wanted to leave neighborhood where Mango Street and her house is located at. At the last vignette of the book, Esperanza said,

“ One day I will pack my bags of books and papers. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away.” (110). This quote proves both that in Esperanza’s future, she will become a writer and will leave the house on Mango Street, and be free. Esperanza is a strong independent woman, in most of the vignettes, she described how women are leaning on the window. This means, that they want to leave where they are at. This shows that Esperanza is one of them too, because if she does lean on the windows too, she understands why the women are leaning. It is a symbol for desiring freedom. She will become a writer because she said ” I will pack my bags of books and papers.” This portrays, Esperanza likes to read and write.

Consequently, I predict she became a writer. I also think the author, Sandra Cisneros is Esperanza. This is evidenced when Esperanza said,  “They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.” (110). This shows that Esperanza will come back and help the women that have the life she had when she was a young women, just like all the ones that lived in Mango Street. To go back to help those women, she wrote a book, titled The House on Mango Street. In the book of The House On Mango Street, Esperanza described how her life was like living in Mango Street.  Also how the women in her neighborhood, their lives were like. She wants to help the other women, on how to get freedom like her, so to do that, she wrote The Book on Mango Street.

The Stories Of My Life .

The Stories Of My Life

Table Of Contents:

1  This Big Mess

2. My First Bicycle

3. Our hair

4. A Scarf With Love

1. This Big Mess.

White walls, small windows, closets, this desk, a bed, a mirror, and the pink carpet. There is nothing that stands out in my room, except for this mess. My room is really messy, but not as messy as the land fill though. Also, when ever my parents walk into my room,or  even walk pass it, they would look around, from  the left to the right and down at the ground. Then they would always say, “CLEAN YOUR ROOM. “ But, I would think, what is the point of cleaning it up when it gets messy within a week or so. However of saying that out loud, I would always answer them by saying, “ Okay, I will clean it when I have time.”  Which is never. There are two main things that are covering up my room’s floor, one of them would be my clothes, they are in a big pile next to my bed. I am always two lazy to put them in my closets after laundry. Also, to lazy to fold them , so they would be in a big messy pile. In addition, the other thing that is taking up the space in my room, would be papers like notes, homework, worksheets and many others more. Although, my clothes and paper works are all scattered everywhere, I some how do eventually find the things I will be needing.

2.My First Bicycle

I was unwrapping all my presents that I received on this special birthday of mine when I was  turning five years old. I opened all the small presents first, and I saved the biggest one last. After opening all those presents, it was time for me to open this big present. This big and special one, that was also from someone very special, my dad. I unwrapped and ripped this big present, piece by piece of the wrapping paper, it fell onto the ground. Ripping and ripping, it finally reveals what the present is. It was a bicycle, not any bicycle but my first bicycle. My favorite color was pink, so thoughtful of my dad, he gave me a pink bicycle. I immediately ran to my dad who was in the kitchen, and gave my dad a big hug. Days later, we went out side, to the park, and brought my bicycle with me. My dad held the back of the bicycle while I was paddling. But moments later, he letted go. I was confident, but on my first attempt to ride on it by myself, I fell. Knees on the ground.  As a result, that left me a small mark of the scar, but I did not care. It was a scar that I will always remember of how i got it, how I got it from my first bicycle that I got from my dad. This is a scar that I do not mind it staying there on my knee. Also, it is because it was my first attempt to ride on the bicycle by myself.

3. Hair

Everyone in my family is different even their hair is different including me. Our hairstyle reveals about our personality, and our life style. Our hair represents who we are. Our hair comes in different lengths, colors, textures, style and many other more. Everyone in my family, that includes: my dad, my mom, my sister, and me, our hair all have our differences. My dad washes his hair everyday, because of where he is working at. His hair is black,  and short. His hair is so short, it is spiky like his mustache. My mom’s hair is down to her shoulder. It is curly and wavy. Plus,it is wavy like the noodles. It is in the color burgundy, the color, burgundy disguises her dark black hair. My sister’s hair is in the color dark brown. but just like me, when its under the sunlight, it is light brown. Not only that but her hair is lazy. It always get tangled up. It is also messy like my room, but you can always clean up the mess by combing through her hair. Her hair is thin, while some strands of the hair is thick. Lastly, my hair is brown. The end of my hair is the desert. It is dried up, and damaged from the heat which are from my blow dryer, where I blow dry my hair when its damp. The curling iron, which I would always use on special occasions. And as well as straightening iron, on days when my hair is not cooperating with me.

4. A Scarf With Love

It was a month before my sister’s fourth birthday. So, I have decided to knit her a scarf. I looked at the color ranges of the yarn, and thought of which color she would like most. The yarn was in her favorite color, the color pink. Pink as the cotton candies. Then I was holding up two knitting needles, and thought of what pattern that would suit her best. And decided to do the basic and the simplest pattern, since I had only a month to knit it. So I began knitting, and thought of my memories with her. Every stitches were filled with love and memory. Me and my sister would always chased each other around like in tag.  And who ever got tagged would then need to chase back. I remembered, my sister would always be the one that is chasing me around the house, to the kitchen, to my room, to my parent’s, to another room.  Then, I remembered a time, when we made water balloons. And we went outside and threw them at each other, the balloons that she was throwing them at me, did not pop. She did not throw hard enough, while on the other hand, I would finish throwing my balloons than she would make one pop. And other many memorable stories.

 

Esperanza's Best Friend: Trees .

The book, The House On Mango Street is written by the author, Sandra Cisneros. The House On Mango Street is written in the style of vignettes. Through out the book has many symbols within the vignettes, also there is a pattern of the symbols occurring. As I was flipping and reading through the book, I realized that the symbol, “trees” popped up a lot. I found that the symbol “trees” were in the following vignettes: “ Sire”, “Four Skinny Trees”, also the vignette “The Monkey Garden”
To start off, in Sire, Esperanza treats the trees as her friend, someone that she can talk to. On page 73, Esperanza said, “Not this way, every evening talking to the trees, leaning out my window, imagining what I can’t see.” Both the windows and the trees are related, because windows are signifying that Esperanza wants freedom. While, the trees are someone she can express herself to. She is telling the trees that she wants freedom, to be out of this neighborhood. Also, the trees are keeping her strong through the hardships in her life. Like when she leans on the window, wanting freedom.
In addition,  in Four Skinny Trees, the narrator, Esperanza compares her self to the trees. In this particular vignette, Esperanza describes how the trees are skinny just like her. She is saying that she is like the trees, the trees that do not belong in this neighborhood, just like her. “Four who do not belong here but are here. Four raggedy excuses planted by the city,” (page 74). This is demonstrating that both of the trees and Esperanza are forced to be in this neighborhood, that they do not wish to belong here. Both of them wish to be free and be some where else other than in this bad neighborhood.
Last but not least, in The Monkey Garden, Esperanza explained what happened when she was trying to save Sally from the guys. On page 97, Esperanza were holding sticks and bricks to save Sally, but what can she do with them? So she felt embarrassed and this is what she did afterwards, “I had to hide myself at the other end of the garden, in the jungle part, under a tree that wouldn’t mind if I lay down and cried a long time.” This portrays that Esperanza trusts the trees, like a best friend. Trees are the one she can go to, when she is down. Also, during the hardships of her life, like in this vignette when she feels embarrassed and ashamed, she can go to the trees. Trees are the one that makes her keep going, to be stronger, also they are the one she can trust.
Esperanza and the trees are so similar that she treats them as a best friend, that she can rely on and trees are the one that make her continue her life.

Leaning on Windows .

In the book, The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros is written by the narrator Esperanza, not only that but the book is also written in the style of vignettes.There are many vignettes in the book, and in those vignettes, there are many themes and symbols that relate back to Esperanza and her family .  In the vignettes “My Name,” “No Speak English”, and  “Rafaela”, all have something similar in them. They relate to “windows” and women which both symbolize something important.

In the vignette, “My Name”, Esperanza explains how she got her name, and it was from her great grandma. Esperanza wrote: “She (her great grandma) looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow.” (10) This quote shows that, when her grandma is inside the house, looking out at the window, it is a symbol that her grandma is being locked and wants freedom. Esperanza’s great-grandmother really wants freedom, because she married to a guy she does not like and HAS to spent her whole life sitting sadly by her window.

In addition, the vignette, “No Speak English,” talks about Esperanza’s neighbor, Mamacita. Esperanza said, “She won’t come down. She sits all day by the window... I think she cries.” (77). Mamacita does not speak English, and she came from a Spanish speaking country, where she was dragged to come to America. Mamacita sits by the windows all day and look down at the street, just like Esperanza’s great grandma. Mamacita wants to go back to where she is from, because when she is here in America, she can not communicate with others. She wants freedom too, to be able to go back to where she was from. And not being controlled by her husband.

Moreover, in “Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut and Papaya Juice on Tuesdays”, talked about, Esperanza’s neighbor Rafaela. In the text it says Rafaela is married to a man that does not want anyone to see his wife, because of her beauty so this is what Rafaela does : “ And then Rafaela, who is still young but getting old from leaning out the window so much, gets locked indoors... Rafaela wishes she could go there and dance before she gets old. “ (79) This demonstrates that Rafaela’s husband locked her in because she is too beautiful, he is scared to lose her. While Rafaela wants to be free and chase her dream, of being able to dance. Instead, all she can do is lean out the window and wishes to have freedom, and being able to dance, and leave her husband.
Clearly,  all of the women want is freedom. Esperanza’s great grandma wants to leave her husband that she does not love. Mamacita wants to go back to her country, and being able to come out and communicate with others. And while Rafaela wants freedom because she wants to chase her dreams, of being able to dance.

The Color Purple: Celie Vs. Nettie .

In the book, “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker, talks about the life events of Celie. This book is written in the point of view of Celie, and later in the story, with also her sister, Nettie's point of view, when Nettie was in Africa, she sends letters back and forth to Celie. The book is also an epistolary novel, in a letter or a diary format. In the beginning of the book, Celie often writes to God, she often writes to God because she trusts God. That God will protect her, and not tell anyone her secrets, so Celie tells God everything that occurs in her life. She also believes that God can solve her conflicts, and issues that happens in her life. While Celie and Nettie are sisters, there are tremendous differences that defines who they are.
To begin, there is an education inequality between Celie and Nettie. Celie is a person that wants to learn, but does not have the chance to. Celie wrote to God, “ ...Pa took me out of school. He never care that I love it... You too dumb to school, Pa say.” ( page 9). Celie got the chance to go to school, but on her first day of school, her Dad already dragged her out of school, because he said shes not smart enough to go to school. Though, Celie stepped her first step into a school, she never got the chance to learn anything from school. While, this is totally different for Nettie. Celie's dad believes Celie is the dumb one, that should stay at home, and Nettie should go to school. “Pa say. Nettie the clever one in this bunch.” ( page 9). This explains that, Nettie went to school, because their dad said Nettie is the smart one, so she deserves to go to school, if you are not smart enough then you do not go. And can not be smart even if you learn from school, that is why her dad never gave the chance to let Celie learn at school. Although, Celie never got the chance to learn at school, she did learned from her sister, Nettie. “ No matter what happen, Nettie steady try to teach me what go on in the world. And she a good teacher too.” ( page 16). Nettie teaches whatever she knows to Celie, because Nettie thinks education is important to both females and males, that is why she wants Celie to be educated too, like her.
In addition, both Celie and Nettie are married. Nettie's marriage was more successful than Celie's. Celie married someone she does not truly love,  and she only married him because her “ Pa” made her. Like on page 9, “But it is hard to think with gitting married to Mr._____ hanging over my head.” This shows that, Celie does not want to marry him, and is not willing to. Also, when Nettie said to Celie, “ I sure hate to leave yo here with these rotten children, she say. Not to mention with Mr.____. Its like seeing you buried, she say.” (page 17) This portrays that, after marrying to Mr.____ Celie needs to watch over his children, it is like “ seeing you buried.” Which means, that shes is like suffering, and is unhappy with the marriage. It is very different for Nettie. Nettie married to Samuel, which she loved, and was not by any force to marry him, she married him because of willingness. Nettie wrote to Celie, “... I loved him all along; but I did not know it. And I love his eyes eyes in which the vulnerability and beauty of his soul can be plainly read.” ( page 238.) Nettie married to Samuel, because they love each other, and they have been through a lot when they were in Africa.  For instance, they have been through the times when the white people were at the village building railroads, when the Europeans were at the Olinka village, they also been through the death of Corrine, and many other more that made their love strong as it is.
Lastly, when it comes to having best friends, Celie has only Sofia and Shug, while Nettie has many others. Celie has always been quiet, so when it comes to meeting new people it was hard for her. But, Sofia has an loud personality which made her and Celie becoming friends, and telling each others hardships. Also,Celie and Shug shared a close relationship, because when Shug was ill, Celie took care of her. When Celie was frighten to stand up for herself, Shug stood up for her. When Celie tells Shug that Mr._____ beats her, “ I won't leave, she say, until I know Albert won't even think about beating you.” (75) This shows that, Shug is someone that will protect and stand up for Celie. Shug, will make Mr._____ not beat Celie, like he did before. While Nettie has Samuel, Corrine, Tashi, Adam, And Olivia. There are more people that Nettie can trust, rather than Celie, she only have Shug and Sofia.
Clearly, there are many differences between Celie and Nettie that created who they are. Celie received less education than Nettie, so as a conclusion of that Nettie taught her sister, how to write, how to spell, how to read, and other stuff she learned from school. Nettie has more close friends and because of that, it made it seem like Celie does not have as many. And Celie's marriage did not turn out as good as Nettie's, which created a stronger women out of Celie, that made her break free from Mr.____ and her position as a house wife, at the end of the story.   

Rebuttal To The Years Of School .

This is going to be a rebuttal to Vic’s post on “should the number of years of schooling be changed.” On his post, he said that the years of schooling should be change, to shorten the years of school. And I disagree with Vic for a few reasons.
He stated that, “Students spend most of their childhood learning in school, discipline and educational subjects, but they don't have enough time to be a child after elementary school.”
So I believe that Vic is saying students should spend time out side of school, and instead they should spend more time not in school, because they should enjoy their life while they can.  He also said “ they don't have enough time to be a child after elementary school,” this is saying, kids should not have that many years of elementary schooling, because they are not important to life. And he is also saying, kids should focus more on middle, high school or college instead of elementary school.
I have to say, I disagree with him, elementary years should not be shortened in any how, because during elementary years are what prepared kids or students to move on to like middle school. And middle prepares them into high school, and high school into college. So if they messed up during their elementary years they can messed up their whole life.
In addition, the numbers of school years should not change because kids can learn a lot from elementary schools too. From the math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org, it says that, “Although kids usually take a year of geometry in high school, they begin learning geometry in elementary school.” This is saying kids will start to learn geometry in their elementary years already, but if the year of elementary is shorter they might not get a chance to learn about geometry till like middle school or high school. Also learning geometry at such a young age can help them prepare when they take geometry in middle or high school.
In conclusion, the years of schooling should not change, because in every years of schooling, it prepares them for the next stage.

The Color Purple: Celie .

What do Celie's letters to God tell you so far about
1. Her character traits and
2. Her beliefs about and relationship with God? Use quotes to answer both parts of this question.

From where I have been read up to, the book, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, is written in the form of Celie writing letters to God. 1. To me Celie is someone that cares a lot about her love ones, like her mom, and her sister, Nettie, also Celie would do anything to protect her love ones.

Just like on pages 3 and 7, Celie wrote to God on what happened, “ I see him looking at my little sister” (pg. 3), and “ I ast him to take me instead of Nettie while our new mammy sick.” (pg. 7)
Those two quotes are saying that Celie’s dad wants to rape Celie’s little sister, Nettie, which is Celie’s daughter, and the quote on page 7 is saying Celie would take the job for Nettie, because she needs to protect Nettie. And she does not want Nettie to go through what happened when her father sexually abused her. Since Celie has been through that, she does not care to go through the pain again, she is used to it now. But, Nettie is not, so to protect Nettie, Celie asked her father to take her instead. This demonstrates that Celie cares about her sister, and is willing to go through anything to protect her sister.
In Addition, Celie is someone that trusts God, a lot. In Celie’s letters to God, what she wrote are very personal, only God she trusts should only read it, and she only tells God her secrets, because she is ashamed, and does not want anyone to know it. She tells God everything, even times when she was sexually abused by her own father. “Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t.”(pg.1) This portrays that Celie trusts God, so she tells/ writes to him about anything that happened in her life. She loves God, she knows God will not judge her for who she is and what she did. Only in writing letters to God can express her feelings, her emotions.

Online Social Networks .

---->Are online social networks (Facebook, etc.) overall more harmful or more beneficial to society?
To begin, although there are many benefits from using online social networks, yet there are numerous of bad things about it too. According to this website (click to view), states that,
“Social networking sites entice people to spend more time online and less time interacting face-to-face. The sites offer many time wasting activities that supplant more productive activities. Teens spend an average of nine hours per week on social networking sites ”
This is say that when using online social networks, we rather chat online than seeing others in person. Also, when using online social networks, we can talk to everyone we want to all at once but can not interact with them physically. If we want to talk/see to them in person, doing this all at once is not possible and chatting on online networks limits the interaction you get when seeing them in person. To conclude, seeing someone in person will waste more time but it is worth the time.
In addition, the site also said that,
“Teens growing up with these sites may not be aware that the information they post is public and that photos and text can be retrieved even after deletion. Consequences from over-sharing personal information include vulnerability to sexual or financial predators and lost job opportunities from employers finding embarrassing photos or comments.”
To me the main issue about online social networks is stalkers. For instance like Facebook, when you accept someone you do not know’s friend request, they will be allowed to view your walls. And your infomations, and stalkers can easily figure out who you hang out with and your upcoming activity. Like, when your friend posts something on your wall asking you to go somewhere, that particular stalker will then be able to stalk you. Clearly, there is not much privacy when using online social networks. And where families and close ones seeing the stuff they wouldn’t think you will do. Not only that, stalkers and creepers can also look through your photos. They might and can use your photos without you knowing and post them online for other creepy purposes.