Adichie

The quote in the "Headstrong Historian" that was referenced was about Chimamanda Adichie's desire for her son to learn the ways of the people that have conquered over her. The lack of power and voice is not something that she wants for her and future generations and would love for her son to have more opportunities in the future. There are many perspectives to a story and it is guaranteed that the views of the incoming powerful people were much different than the victims such as Adichie. Power leads to corruption and everyone wants to seek it. Discussing about this in our class, the idea of privilege has been reinforced in my mind. It is interesting to stop and think about the amount of power we have together as a country compared to other parts of the world where forceful actions are put forward in an attempt for wealth and glory for others.

Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress

In Daj Sijie's novel, Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress, the setting is in the time of Mao's cultural revolution. Through the progression of the narrator and his best friend, Luo, actions, we learn from the book how living in these conditions were like. As we begin to understand the more and more restrictions that these people have in the reeducation programs, we learn how hard it was for them to become more knowledgable. Through the banned books, it provides proof that the government is hiding valuable material from their citizens. I interpret this as fear that these books will let others become more educated in civilized, forming their new ideas that differ from the "appropriate" beliefs. Being an historical fiction book, we understand that these events happened but adds a more specific component to learning. We feel more connected as they are about our age, and the events based on true ones are extremely influential.

Reflection Time

At the start of the first book we are reading this year, it is a good time to reflect on what we have done. Personally, English is not my strong suit so I have spent a particular amount of time this year trying to improve my weaknesses. Last year, I would always get behind on the reading which was brutal on my grade from the daily quizzes. However, this year, I have been doing much better on that, which has shown on the improvement on my English grade. I enjoyed reading the short stories and poems, but I am glad we have finally moved on to a book which I must say is the most interesting one I have read so far at Sage. Where I would like to improve on is my close reading and to stay more focused when I read so I can get more important information my the author is trying to point across. Overall, I am enjoying my English class more than last year and hope to progress more as the year goes on.

Banned Books

The topic of banning books has always been controversial and I have never understood it. Personally, I believe that certain books should be banned for people under a certain age. New ideas and even outrageous beliefs can and should be able to be read if it is of any interest to you. If books go against one's morals or ideas, then don't read the book. However, propaganda and politics have influenced the past greatly in making decisions. Therefore, I understand some books being banned if it went against government policies or beliefs. Banning books is a sign of fear: a fear of the book changing one's way of thinking. Therefore, I understand some books being banned if it went against government policies or beliefs. They believe it is important to censor what their citizens believe in. If a book was "illegal" in my country, I wouldn't pursue reading it because  know it is banned for a reason, but just for curiosity I would probable someday read the book myself to see other people's way of thinking. Literature is a powerful tool to persuade many, but I don't believe it should be censored.

WImps

The phrase "All Men are Created Equal" pertains to the laws and right one has in their society. However, we are certainly not equal in mental or physical ability. In the short story "Harrison Bergeron", it portrays an unrealistic future where it takes the literal meaning of equal and applies it to humans. It was an interesting story to read but absurd at the same time because common sense will tell us that in order for the world to improve and advance, new ideas have to be made. Going off of this, shielding kids from realizes failure and victories may make them lose their confidence but will pay off in the long run. Having kid realize that not everyone has the same ability to impact the world is an important concept to understand so they will work harder in the future. I am a firm believer in tough love, and in order for someone to truly succeed they must know how much it sucks to fail, so that they will never want to be in that position again.

My "suffering child"

I remember in sixth grade there was this one kid that a group of people would always pick on. The group of people were mostly my friends so I was always tempted to join them in making fun of them. we were making fun of him because it was entertainment for us, watching him suffer from our comments and react. I decided to not take a part of these activities which was hard because during break it was all my friends were doing. 

From constant bullying eventually came punishment with him reporting us to the teacher. They all got sent to the principal's office (me included). I was confused because I thought that I have done nothing wrong, engaging in no bullying activity. However, I was told that I was in trouble because I did not tell the authorities about the bullying incidents. In other words, they were calling me a coward for not doing anything when seeing such a sight. Looking back, I regret leaving without helping the poor kid and this experience has helped me become a better person. 

Living in Fear

In a chapter of the book Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner, he explains how television shows has impacted our emotions, where we feel more unsafe in what we believe. He argues how it leads to more precaution because we feel in danger. I agree how television shows can have an impact people's perspectives, but speaking for myself, I feel like shows will always be shows. It is easy to fall in the trap of believing everything you here, but in reality the main goal for producing unrealistic violence is for money. Television is good entertainment and should be kept that way. It should not be used as a way for reliable information because of the amount of bias it can have. The idea of television impacting our lives so much that we have to change our lifestyle and live in fear is ridiculous to think about and I disagree with Glassner's study. Violence is edgy and a great way to entertain us, and I do not believe conclusion of how people make choices based on their television to by more security such as guns and locks. Television has multiple purposes, including propoganda and hyperboles. The main goal is to get paid and alter one's mind to gain advantages such as politically. Relating to Nadine Gordimer's short story "Once Upon a Time",  family decided to overload on their security where it eventually led to their demise of their own son dying to the very fence that was supposed to protect them. You cannot account for everything in life and it's hard to predict unlucky occurences. Living in fear is difficult because it will be easy to manipulate you. Think with experiences and real life situations, not what you see on television!

Pictures

This is the house in Virginia where all my cousins gather together and have a fun time. With ages varying from ten to twenty one, it is a great get together to share interests and be around great people all the time. This house is my grandparents house and I can remember countless memories of joy and fun that I have not experienced elsewhere. It is a special place that I dearly miss whenever I leave and look forward to every summer. Family is extremely important to me, and it is always great to catch up on the previous years with them.

Looking at this picture floods in memories on memories in an instant which I feel is more powerful than words describing this house. It holds a very special place in my mind and can only imagine how many words this picture makes me think about.

Introduction

Welcome! I'm Matt from Sage Hill School. From blogging, I would like to share my interesting and new perspectives on various subjects and get feedback to help me become a better writer. I am currently a sophomore and enjoy various sports such as golf and basketball. To introduce myself further I would like to share a word cloud I have made.

The three words that best describe me are family, competitive, and spiders. The first is family because I enjoy doing everything with my family and they are always there for me when I am bored. I have two sisters, one older and one younger than me. My second is competitive because I love sports, both watching and playing. My favorite basketball team is the Washington Wizards, which is also my favorite sport to play. In a close second comes golf because I can play it with older people including my uncles and parents. My third is spiders because I am massively afraid of them. I dont want to talk about them.
Have a good time enjoying my chewy thoughts!