My Sophomore Year

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live ( Whittemore, Flora).”

This year in this honors language arts class I have learned many things, but the things that I have learned that are interesting to me are paradigm and propaganda, how to break down a word so I can have a better understanding of what the word actually means, and about subjective and objective.

Paradigm is the lens through which we see the world. There are three things that shape a person’s paradigm, which is image, language, and music. Propaganda is when you shape your paradigm to get the result you want.

I have come to understand that the whole English language comes from Latin and Greek words. Therefore if there is a word you don’t understand then you can just break it down into its prefixes and root words and figure out what it means. For example perception, I learned that per means through and ceptio means to see, therefore perception must mean to see through something.

Another major thing that I have learned about is subjective. Subjective is from the persons, or subjects, point of view. This is the person that is doing the action. Subjective may be true may be false this is all because it depends on your own opinion. Objective is total opposite of this. Objective is the person, or object receiving the action and the truth has been verified scientifically, but you can’t always believe that what the scientists say is true because it may not always be, for example when they believed the world was flat.

In these past few months I have learned so much, but I haven’t just learned about things in language arts I have also learned a lot socially, spiritually, and I have grown up a lot as well.

What I mean by me learning socially is that I’ve learned you can’t harp on what other people think. If you let what other people think about you get to your head then you won’t be able to grow in any other way. I believe that negative people are like coffee, they stunt your growth and ability to succeed in life.

I have also become more of a calmer person spiritually. What I mean by this is my ninth grade year I used to be more of a rebel. I didn’t care what I did, but now I see that I shouldn’t be acting like that all the time and that there is a lot more things in this world that I need to be worrying about.

The biggest change I have made this year is growing up. Now that I am a sophomore and I took the PSAT’s I know that my main priorities should only evolve around school. I don’t have time for all the drama and high school nonsense and this year I’ve made a choice to skip out on it. Yeah, I’m not going to avoid all of it but at least this year I have realized what exactly I need to be looking out for.

I can’t believe how much I’ve changed in just this past year and I can’t even imagine how much I will change by my senior year, but I do know that I won’t mind the changes as long as I keep changing in a positive way and not in a negative one.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending (Robinson, Maria).”

Video: My Poem or Rap

Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity.

But silence is impossible.

Silence screams.

Silence is a message,

Just as doing nothing is an act.

Let who you are ring out and resonate

in every word and every deed.

Yes, become who you are.

There’s no sidestepping your own being

or your own responsibility.

What you do is who you are.

You are your own comeuppance.

You become your own message.

You are the message.

-Leonard Peltier

Heartbeat

Your neighbors are outside talking and their children are playing. You are standing at the front porch in your favorite jeans and a muscle shirt. You start walking towards the street as you hear sirens getting closer. COPS, lots of them, your heart drops to your stomach as all of them pull up to your house with their lights flashing around the whole neighborhood. Is there something wrong? Suddenly the Chaplain parks. The look on their face, you don’t even want to ask what happened. The Chaplain starts walking up to you in his black suite. It feels like your heart stops. You fall to your knees. At first you could only imagine what was going on but now you’re crying because you know what’s coming next. The Chaplain walks right past you, rings your doorbell, and waits for someone to open up. You stand and approach the Chaplain, “What’s Wrong, what’s going on??” you say but no response, it’s as if he can’t hear you. Your wife comes out, her best friend just behind her. She’s wearing your favorite purple dress with the matching flip-flops and earrings. You can see it in her face, a look of grief a look of pain as the Chaplain whispers something in her ear. She falls to the ground, crying uncontrollably, her black eyeliner running down her cheeks. You’re screaming trying to find out what has happened. Her best friend is on the ground hugging her trying to calm her down. You look around and finally realize what’s wrong, why nobody answers you, why nobody even seems to notice you, as she screams your name asking why, how could it happen to you?

Wisdom Quotation

"Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox. Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form (Buddha)."

What makes someone unique? This is a question that many people seem to have a problem answering, but what makes someone unique is not just a question. I believe what makes people unique is more than their DNA. It is where they come from, the things they have experienced in life, and a whole lot more. Now let’s not state the obvious, like the usual “my personality makes me unique” or “the way I present myself”, being unique comes from your own paradigm, your own perception of the world.

I come from a strong, diverse family. Just being in my family allows me to see many of the different personalities in the world. Everything I know I’ve learned from my family, some good and some bad. I think my family is so strong and unique because we come from everywhere. Even though the government labels us as Hispanic I don’t really believe this is true. When I say this it’s not because I don’t know where I come from but it’s because I come from so many different ethnicities I don’t consider myself as just Hispanic. Looking at my family tree I can see that my family comes from all over the world. Therefore labeling myself as just Hispanic wouldn’t be absolutely correct.

What I believe also makes me unique is all the things that I’ve been through. Even though the decisions I’ve made in the past were hardly any good ones they have taught me that you shouldn’t take life for granted and that everything happens for a reason. The time that helped me figure this out was when I almost died. This showed me that I was given a life for a reason, for example to maybe help people, or discover something, or maybe even just find the true meaning of living. And when it can sometimes feel like nothing is working and I should give up, is when I realize I should push harder.

This is where my paradigm is expressed. I try to view the world with a positive outlook. This is mostly because I believe that you are what you think. Meaning that if you believe that life is nothing but a boring waste of time then your life will turn out to be a boring waste of time, but if you see life as a blessing and live it to the fullest then everything around you will be positive and fun.

Recently I have stopped trying to be like everybody else and have learned to be myself. My life is more interesting and there isn’t a dull moment until I allow one to happen. My truth is everything I believe in and what I believe can happen is definitely a possibility, therefore everything in the world is possible for me. This is what makes me unique, not some little fingerprint that scientist says is different from everybody else, it is everything in my mind, heart, and soul.

"Today is gone and tomorrow's never there. Life is too short. Don't let the negative lead your path. Find your own path, and do so by skipping out on the drama (Martinez, Celina, May 10, 2010)."

Person For a Day

She walks tall, her head high. Coming up to only just above my knee, yet so confident. Her big brown eyes always filled with life but slightly dim when she is tired. She always has a smile from ear to ear. She is so beautiful. Her short brown hair frames her round face.

Her imagination runs wild. Her favorite game to play is doctor. She follows me like a duckling follows its mom. I guess I could say I am her role model but she is the one that influences me and encourages me to do my best.

Her history isn’t really set yet it has just begun. Her background is full of loving people and wild personalities. She is still young yet her personality already shows strong in her. Very friendly and never shy. She always speaks her mind. She is a great people person, and can make friends with just about anyone.

Something I would always recognize about her is her laugh, it kind of sounds like a zebra. Also I could never forget all the crazy things she says. Her favorite fraise is “Freeze sucka”, or “What’s crack-a-lackin dog”.

The person I am talking about is my niece, Estrella Luz. I love her with all my heart. She is so wonderful. I guess I would want to be her for a day because she is so carefree. She can just play all day and not stress about anything. I am always wondering what she is thinking and how her mind works so if I could be her for a day then I can finally fulfill that wonder. She is always very happy and energetic that it would be fun to be in her shoes. Also she is pure innocence and what teenager or adult wouldn’t want to be truly innocent for a day?