Every year around this time, we are suppose to take some time out of our days to appreciate what we have in our lives. It is a time to say thanks to everyone in our lives that have made an impact on us. I am lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family members that support me. I am grateful for the opportunity to receive an education in this great school and the opportunity to get ahead in life. However, this blog is just about that one person in my English 2 class that I am really thankful for.
The person I am writing about is Justin Lam. We have been friends for about 2 years now, because he is the older brother of one of my friends. Although he is older than me, we share a lot of the same classes, since I was a frackie. He shares the same Algebra 2 class together, and he sits in front of me in English. Whenever we have a group project in English, we are usually in the same group. He is the first person I go to when I don't know what the homework is for English.
We are not just friends in school though. Whenever I go to his house, he is very generous and gives me food and drinks to eat. Although we are not that common, we are still friends. He does not have the same interests as me, since he watches shows that I don't like, and he's not as good as a gamer as me. But, he is still a funny person and makes English a lot more enjoyable. I am thankful to have Justin Lam as a friend.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
I Celebrate Myself
I celebrate myself for being who I am, and not being what others want me to be. I have my own interests and my own sources of happiness. Some may be happy with their solitude, being surrounded by nature. Others may like the company of dozens or even hundreds of other people around them at all times. However, I sometimes enjoy just being on my own in my own room, with the only connection I have to the outside world is the Internet, or being with just a small group of friends. Being different from others should not be frowned upon, but encouraged.
If everyone in this world were almost exactly the same, the world would be boring. Everything would be exactly the same. It is the individualism of the artist to create something new that would amaze or interest others.
So, I celebrate myself, just for being myself. I celebrate myself for not trying to become a doctor or lawyer like my mom wants me to. I celebrate myself for doing things that makes me happy and not what others want me to do to make myself happy. In the end, if you're not truly being yourself, you are not truly happy.
If everyone in this world were almost exactly the same, the world would be boring. Everything would be exactly the same. It is the individualism of the artist to create something new that would amaze or interest others.
So, I celebrate myself, just for being myself. I celebrate myself for not trying to become a doctor or lawyer like my mom wants me to. I celebrate myself for doing things that makes me happy and not what others want me to do to make myself happy. In the end, if you're not truly being yourself, you are not truly happy.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer and poet who lived in the early 19th century. He played a major part in the American Romantic Movement. Poe was one of the earliest short story writers in America. He is known for his works with mystery and horror. Today, he is still one of the most famous writers and his works are studied deeply by a majority of scholars.
At a very early age, he became an orphan with his father running away and mother dying. Throughout his entire life, he struggled through depression and hardship. His escape was gambling, and consumption of alcohol. Although he was taken in by the very wealthy Allan family, his debts in gambling destroyed his relationship with them, causing him to not be able to finish University and struggled to survive off of only his works of writing.
Most of Poe's works seem to be a reflection of his emotions. All of his stories that we have read so far have to deal with the supernatural, ether with people coming back from the dead or a raven that drives a man insane. These works reflect the darkness and depression inside of him. His works all have a sense of gloominess or despair. Many of his works reflect upon the loss of his his wife, Virginia Clemm. When Virginia dies, Poe falls deeper into depression and consumes more alcohol, just as the characters in The Raven and Ligeia does when they lose a love one.
By reading the works of Poe, one can see into his mind and go deep into his emotions. This brilliant, tormented man is one of the greatest writers in American history.
At a very early age, he became an orphan with his father running away and mother dying. Throughout his entire life, he struggled through depression and hardship. His escape was gambling, and consumption of alcohol. Although he was taken in by the very wealthy Allan family, his debts in gambling destroyed his relationship with them, causing him to not be able to finish University and struggled to survive off of only his works of writing.
Most of Poe's works seem to be a reflection of his emotions. All of his stories that we have read so far have to deal with the supernatural, ether with people coming back from the dead or a raven that drives a man insane. These works reflect the darkness and depression inside of him. His works all have a sense of gloominess or despair. Many of his works reflect upon the loss of his his wife, Virginia Clemm. When Virginia dies, Poe falls deeper into depression and consumes more alcohol, just as the characters in The Raven and Ligeia does when they lose a love one.
By reading the works of Poe, one can see into his mind and go deep into his emotions. This brilliant, tormented man is one of the greatest writers in American history.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
What is an American?
The simplest way we can describe an American is a citizen of the United States. But, it goes much deeper into that. People of every nationality have their own background and traditions. The people of the United States are not just made up of one group of people, but several ethnicity groups. The creates a melting pot of traditions, changing some and completely creating new ones. People come here for 2 main reasons: economic opportunities and freedom. This is what unites the people of the United States.
The idea of freedom is what created the United States. The 13 original colonies in the eastern coast of North America fought for their independence from Britain. They abolished monarchy and created a government made up of 3 branches. From there on out, people have been fighting for more and more freedom, leading to the civil rights movement which fought against segregation of race and the women's rights movement which fought against segregation of sex. As the country grew and grew, more people were attracted from around the world.
As the country grew, the economy grew with it. Soon, the United States became one of the most, if not, strongest countries in the world. This is a huge accomplishment, considering how young the country is. This is largely accomplished by people attempting to live the American Dream: to have freedom and the opportunity to work your way up from nothing to prosperity and success.
In conclusion, Americans are people who strive for success. They are people who enjoy the freedom of this country and are in the pursuit for happiness. People of many different backgrounds coexist in the same communities, each with the same goal as each other. Immigrants come here and adapt to the traditions that we have here, as well as adding to it and changing it. So, an American is not just one type of person, but people from all around the world who had the chance of coming here and took that chance to try to achieve the American Dream.
The idea of freedom is what created the United States. The 13 original colonies in the eastern coast of North America fought for their independence from Britain. They abolished monarchy and created a government made up of 3 branches. From there on out, people have been fighting for more and more freedom, leading to the civil rights movement which fought against segregation of race and the women's rights movement which fought against segregation of sex. As the country grew and grew, more people were attracted from around the world.
As the country grew, the economy grew with it. Soon, the United States became one of the most, if not, strongest countries in the world. This is a huge accomplishment, considering how young the country is. This is largely accomplished by people attempting to live the American Dream: to have freedom and the opportunity to work your way up from nothing to prosperity and success.
In conclusion, Americans are people who strive for success. They are people who enjoy the freedom of this country and are in the pursuit for happiness. People of many different backgrounds coexist in the same communities, each with the same goal as each other. Immigrants come here and adapt to the traditions that we have here, as well as adding to it and changing it. So, an American is not just one type of person, but people from all around the world who had the chance of coming here and took that chance to try to achieve the American Dream.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
The Modern Puritan
Puritans in the past were a very strict group of religious followers of the Bible. Everything in their life revolved around the Bible and God. Anyone who would go against these rules would be strictly punished by public humiliation, excommunication, in some extreme cases they would even be executed. People who didn't follow the Puritan beliefs or didn't believe in their God would sometimes be tortured and/or thrown out of the community. Now, in modern times, Puritans do not exist anymore. Although there may be few people who still follow these beliefs, there are no large communities of Puritans.
The group closest to the Puritans today would be the Amish, as said in class. They have strict rules about living a simple life, so they do not use modern technologies such as cars and phones. Most of them do not get an education past 8th grade, as they think that they do not need any higher education to live their way of life. But, they are probably not as strict as the Puritans were.
However, there are still very strict rules in our society today. The obvious ones would be no killing, hate crimes, or anything of that sort. People would not be executed or banished as easily as people were in Puritan communities. Even rules that were very strict before, such as use of profanity, are often just shrugged off. So in this day and age where most people are more laid back about breaking small rules, I do not believe that any true Puritans could exist anymore.
The group closest to the Puritans today would be the Amish, as said in class. They have strict rules about living a simple life, so they do not use modern technologies such as cars and phones. Most of them do not get an education past 8th grade, as they think that they do not need any higher education to live their way of life. But, they are probably not as strict as the Puritans were.
However, there are still very strict rules in our society today. The obvious ones would be no killing, hate crimes, or anything of that sort. People would not be executed or banished as easily as people were in Puritan communities. Even rules that were very strict before, such as use of profanity, are often just shrugged off. So in this day and age where most people are more laid back about breaking small rules, I do not believe that any true Puritans could exist anymore.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?
John Proctor is both a real person and a fictional one in a play. The real John Proctor was a 60 year old man. The fictional version of him was a man in his thirties. In the real world, John couldn't have possibly had an affair with Abigail Williams, as she was only 12 at the time. But, in both versions, it ends the same way: John Proctor gets accused for witchcraft and hangs. This post will be talking about the fictional John Proctor in The Crucible.
In the beginning, John Proctor is a respected farmer with 3 sons and a wife. There are many faults however, such as him not going to church as often as he could because of his disapproval of the church's pastor, Parris. His biggest fault is his affair with Abigail Williams, who is 16-17 years old in the play. As the play progresses and more and more people are being accused of witchcraft, Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, gets accused by Abigail. When Proctor gets a chance to free his wife in exchange for revoking his charge on the court, he declines because his friends' wives are also being accused. This is his first act of heroism.
Eventually, Proctor decides to come clean to the court about his affair with Abigail, in order to prove that Abigail is not with God and that her claims are false. When Elizabeth gets called into court to say whether or not this is true, she lies in order to protect Proctor. Throughout the course of the play, Mary Warren sides with Abigail and turns against Proctor, claiming that Proctor has been performing witchcraft.
Proctor is then forced to either plead guilty to witchcraft and falsely accuse someone else of witchcraft, or be tried by hanging. Elizabeth pleads with Proctor to sign a confession so that he can live. But in the end, Proctor decides to stick to his Puritan beliefs and rips up the confession. In the end, John Proctor dies a true Puritan. He stays true to his morals and is pure in the very end. John Proctor is a hero.
In the beginning, John Proctor is a respected farmer with 3 sons and a wife. There are many faults however, such as him not going to church as often as he could because of his disapproval of the church's pastor, Parris. His biggest fault is his affair with Abigail Williams, who is 16-17 years old in the play. As the play progresses and more and more people are being accused of witchcraft, Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, gets accused by Abigail. When Proctor gets a chance to free his wife in exchange for revoking his charge on the court, he declines because his friends' wives are also being accused. This is his first act of heroism.
Eventually, Proctor decides to come clean to the court about his affair with Abigail, in order to prove that Abigail is not with God and that her claims are false. When Elizabeth gets called into court to say whether or not this is true, she lies in order to protect Proctor. Throughout the course of the play, Mary Warren sides with Abigail and turns against Proctor, claiming that Proctor has been performing witchcraft.
Proctor is then forced to either plead guilty to witchcraft and falsely accuse someone else of witchcraft, or be tried by hanging. Elizabeth pleads with Proctor to sign a confession so that he can live. But in the end, Proctor decides to stick to his Puritan beliefs and rips up the confession. In the end, John Proctor dies a true Puritan. He stays true to his morals and is pure in the very end. John Proctor is a hero.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Arrivals - There Goes The Neighborhood
Before the Americas was "discovered" by the Europeans, there were already millions of Natives thriving with their own unique cultures and traditions. But, the explorers did not care about their culture and thought of the people as barbarians and savages for living the way they did. They didn't even think of them as their own people. They referred to the Natives as Indians because they thought they were in the Indies, even though the people looked different and had completely different cultures. The arrival of the Europeans changed the lives of the Natives forever.
The Europeans did not see the Natives as equals to themselves. They saw themselves as more civilized and more human than the Natives, because they were more technically advanced. They saw them as opportunities to spread their religion and a source of wealth. They invaded their land and forced them to change their way of life to be more like the Europeans. When the Natives did disagreed with the invaders or refused to change their religion and culture, they were forced out of their homes. The Europeans thought so little of the Natives that Columbus kidnapped 6 Natives to bring back to Spain to please the king and queen.
They did not just stop there. They created plantations in the Americas to grow cash crops to increase their wealth. On these plantations, they forced the Natives to do hard physical labor. Diseases brought over by the European combined with the difficult work ravaged the population of the Natives. Wars between the two cultures and disease killed millions of Natives. Entire tribes went extinct, wiping away their culture and traditions. The Native way of life was drastically changed by the Europeans, and might not ever return to the way it was before.
The Europeans did not see the Natives as equals to themselves. They saw themselves as more civilized and more human than the Natives, because they were more technically advanced. They saw them as opportunities to spread their religion and a source of wealth. They invaded their land and forced them to change their way of life to be more like the Europeans. When the Natives did disagreed with the invaders or refused to change their religion and culture, they were forced out of their homes. The Europeans thought so little of the Natives that Columbus kidnapped 6 Natives to bring back to Spain to please the king and queen.
They did not just stop there. They created plantations in the Americas to grow cash crops to increase their wealth. On these plantations, they forced the Natives to do hard physical labor. Diseases brought over by the European combined with the difficult work ravaged the population of the Natives. Wars between the two cultures and disease killed millions of Natives. Entire tribes went extinct, wiping away their culture and traditions. The Native way of life was drastically changed by the Europeans, and might not ever return to the way it was before.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Me
Hello, my name is Jiawei Huang (you pronounce it Jay-Way). I am a freshman in Whitney M. Young, the best school in Chicago, and possible the world. Although I am a freshman, most of my classes are with sophomores and juniors, and a couple of my academic center friends. This creates some difficulties for me, in terms of both school work and social life. Right now, I would say that my entire life would be focused on school with breaks whenever I'm not doing work.
There are few things interesting with me, as basically everything I do revolves around school. One of these things is that I have a pet hedgehog that I named Potato, because he kind of looked like a potato. I live with my grandparents because my mom works outside the city, because it is hard for her to find a job here in Chicago. They do not fully approve of my exotic pet, but my mom convinced them to let me keep him.
During my free time, I either go out to a friend's house or stay home and play League of Legends, an enormous multiplayer strategy game played by millions around the world. I'm a diamond player in North America, which makes me pretty good. Most League players I know in real life treat me like a god because I am diamond. I grew a small garden in my backyard over the summer, but I don't really have time for that anymore since school started.
Since school started, I've been under a lot of stress with all the homework I get. My favorite class that's not gym or lunch would probably be trig/algebra 2, because I find that challenging myself with some difficult math problems calms me and relieves a lot of stress off of me, which is different from most people. My least favorite class would probably either history or English (sorry). All of my teachers are very nice though. That's about the general gist of my life.
There are few things interesting with me, as basically everything I do revolves around school. One of these things is that I have a pet hedgehog that I named Potato, because he kind of looked like a potato. I live with my grandparents because my mom works outside the city, because it is hard for her to find a job here in Chicago. They do not fully approve of my exotic pet, but my mom convinced them to let me keep him.
During my free time, I either go out to a friend's house or stay home and play League of Legends, an enormous multiplayer strategy game played by millions around the world. I'm a diamond player in North America, which makes me pretty good. Most League players I know in real life treat me like a god because I am diamond. I grew a small garden in my backyard over the summer, but I don't really have time for that anymore since school started.
Since school started, I've been under a lot of stress with all the homework I get. My favorite class that's not gym or lunch would probably be trig/algebra 2, because I find that challenging myself with some difficult math problems calms me and relieves a lot of stress off of me, which is different from most people. My least favorite class would probably either history or English (sorry). All of my teachers are very nice though. That's about the general gist of my life.
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