Final Masterpiece Essay

At first I had no idea how to write this essay. It was all overwhelming due to the loads of elements we had to input and make it a Bildungsroman. However at around 12am the day of it was due, I suddenly gained inspiration and started writing and writing and well... read for yourself (:

My Learning Was Lit

"This year I learned the following terms and I applied them as I read some pretty great stuff:

allusion: Is when the author makes a reference (in a story, etc.) that he wants us to know about

plot: Is the events that occur in the story

theme: is the message of the story

diction: the words the author uses

syntax: The way author puts words together

in/direct characterization: When the author doesn’t tell us straight up how the character is. On the contrary through dialogue, etc. // the author tells us the character through details

static/dynamic characters: when the character does not change; stays the same // when the character changes throughout the story

symbolism: An object or thing that has a meaning behind it

synecdoche: is where something is referred to a whole 

Fahrenheit 451 update 05/03/18

This book is becoming very interesting.

Response to journal topic May 2

DP gave a well structured post informing us about his discovery for the love of  washing dishes...

NOTES FROM TODAY'S LECTURE

Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have A Dream" Speech

eye-catching Quotes: 

• "All men are created equal"
• "...Not judged by color of skin, but by content of character"
• "Let freedom ring"
• "I have a dream"

Not only did these quotes stand out to me, but with there repetitive sayings and broad application towards everyone, they gave off a sense of passion.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses a spectrum of the future that consists of equality and rights for black men and women.

Ethos/Pathos/Logos

ETHOS:

• It's not about what is being said ,but HOW it's being said
• the Credibility!!
• all the aspects that go into presenting the message which include nonverbal and verbal communication

PATHOS:

• the passion, empathy, emotion that gets you feeling like they can relate with you and understand your position
• can be paraverbal and/or nonverbal communication

LOGOS:

• aka LOGIC
• the way they explain themselves
• persuasive? or not

Does this person know what he is talking about?

Does this person care?

Does this person make sense?

Shifting culture

We shifted the culture in class yesterday by slowly getting people to speak their minds which brought up new topics along the way.

Notes from 1/12/18 class discussion:

• Everybody wants freedom
• People cannot take away your -opinions  -feelings
• "Watching the sun rise" we gain so much pleasure in the simplest things
• The littlest things can make us happy
• To get where you want to be in life you have to step out of your comfort zone  > in order to grow
• we have habits of being a 'student' -quiet  -no talking
• Socrates was a philosopher who asked questions to people "are you happy?" 
• "the non examined life is not worth living"

How do we get the courage to express ourselves?...

I, SOCRATES

The past 2 days in class were just constant class discussions. 1 normal classroom, 1 teacher, 1 teacher assistant, and more than 30 heads filled with ideas and perspectives. Although there was more silence than verbal communication, the students had thoughts in their minds that even a few had the urge to speak their minds. And that was incredible even if it was just one remark. These past days helped me learn and become creative in the sense that I was able to incorporate my views with others views to find a new perspective of the issues.

MUSIC AS LITERATURE

1. I believe it is fair to say that these songs were by Paul Simon because yes he incorporated unique elements such as African culture/music with a mixture of others in his songs but it is “he” who brought those things to unite which gives him some credit
2. Simon created something new and abstract by going back into the roots of a musical genre by fusing what music is defined as today with the past 
3. Music=Literature because it carries many unique different elements to be mashed into one

Socratic Seminar Reflection

• Paul Simon’s songs are a mix of genres 

•   He made a bridge between African culture and American culture

•   Simon went to South Africa to talk to African musicians > lots of controversy 

•  There’s culture in everything ex) School, heritage etc 

•   FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out

•    People don’t communicate with people because we’re used to the norms, used to being on our phones, we fear of being judged and standing out from the crowd

What I can conclude from the class discussion is that Paul Simon created history by merging 2 unlike cultures and creating a ‘revolution’ of something new. Music IS literature due to the factors of having artistic backgrounds and sometimes eye catching messages. Finally, that people fear standing out and making the ‘first move’ thanks to our ‘Social Survival Mammoth’

Paul Simon’s “Graceland”

I gathered up these notes during the first few minutes of class and man that was something! I was replaying the video over and over to get some content written down and well.. see for your self 

ACCOMPLISH

What I plan to accomplish by June 2018:

• Knowing what it means to be successful and happy
• The different paths teens want to take after high school
• If people who have chosen their paths are truly happy with their decisions
• And more ..

NEXT STEPS

The next steps I will take in exploring my big question are:

• Finding out what the different paths are after high school
• Interviewing people who have tooken different paths 
• Conducting a survey about what teens plans on doing  after high school 
• Determining what makes people “successful” in life
• What it takes to be “Happy” in life 
• And so on...

THE BENEFIT

Learning about “ What Happens next after high school” will help me and the world in general in the way that we would find the true meaning behind what our duty is as a habitant on earth. Well actually as a way to find out the different ways of becoming what you want to be in life and what you want to do even if the road gets bumpy at times.

THE ROAD

• What happens next after high school?

The way that I got interested in this was how it randomly hit me. I would always think about why things are how they are and how do people find true happiness in their lives. These thoughts constantly filled my head and others too. I also have met many inspirational and different people throughout my life such as, influencers who travel around the world to share their story, homeless people, elderly, veterans, college students, people who have been in a gang but changed their path, the mayor of Santa Maria, other youth across America, etc. These people each have a path they took or will take which would determine if they become happy with themselves or not. So, when Dr. Preston posted on his blog for us to write about our “life after high school” that got me thinking....

BIG QUESTION

My big question is what is next after high school? This is about how after we have met the requirements of the system which is to complete the kindergarten to 12th grade school years, what happens next? I want to know what are the different paths people take when they are officially adults and have no requirements to continue their education. My big question will expand my thinking on what makes a person successful, what makes people happy in life, and how to survive in this world. This interests me because i have always thought about the different paths people take in life and how those decisions truly result in them becoming happy with what they do.

Big Question Ideas

• Regarding your Big Question:
• What do you want to read?
•  I want to read about different successful people and their stories
• What do you want to watch?
•  I want to watch the strategies or the way people become successful in life
• Who do you want to meet?
•  I want to meet people who have chosen different paths after high school
• What do you want to write? 
• I want to write about the variety of options of paths there is to take after high school .
• What do you WANT?
• I want to know how the system works. Like what do you do after there are no requirements such as school. 

The Cactus

• What interested me about this story in the first place was the description "short and direct"

A Horseman in the Sky

• What interested me about the story in the first place was the peculiar title, "A Horseman in the Sky" and how the story takes place during the Civil War. 

The Story of An Hour

• What interested me about this story in the first place was the long description it had compared to the others which caught my attention. And the intriguing use of words in the description such as "This dramatic short story" and "This suspenseful and climactic story will take you on an emotional journey."

Net Neutrality!!!

My friend Jenifer Lopez and I have discussed this very important topic to us nd we have seen that having the access to free internet is what everyone should have . Repealing net neutrality would corporations would charge us on certain sites we want to see. Journalists can tell us anything going on in the news.  It creates new opportunities. we should have access to free internet because well, its common sense.

Life After Highschool

What i picture my life after high school is that I would be in a four-year university. My dream school is UC Berkeley and University of Southern California. Possibly graduate in about 3 years, but during those 3 years i will be studying abroad for a semester or so. Once i have my credentials i will be working travelling and working in a business of some sort to some day own my own business. Yeah that is as far as I've thought about my life after high school.