First Car Ideas

Recently I have gotten really interested in Mazda miatas, specifically the first generation ones. The reason for this is I was thinking about what kind of car I want to get for my first one and as I was doing this, I saw my neighbor's modded Miata. They have perfect 50/50 weight distribution and are extremely fun cars to drive around from what I have heard. If I ever do get one, I am not sure what type of car I would mod it into. I love drift cars, but the Miata has a very short wheelbase, which is not advantageous for a drift car. This is why I'm leaning towards grip tuning it instead. This basically means I want to mod it to take around a track the fastest way possible in a typical race fashion, while still maintaining the street aesthetic of the car. Here's a pic depicting the idea I have for customizing the exterior.

or something like this..

One of My Favorite Teachers I've Had

Throughout a student’s educational life, he or she has to deal with many things; friends, sports, extracurricular activities, and of course, teachers. Teachers can be the bane of your existence, they can make your day 10 times better, or they are just plain average. One of my favorite teachers I’ve had so far is my eighth grade English and History teacher, Mr. Hanks.

                Mr. Hanks is admired by most, if not all, of the students who attend his class. He’s a great teacher, a fun loving guy, and most of all, a good friend to have. Whenever he teaches history class, he will put emotion and emphasis in the lessons. He constantly moves around the room and sways his arms as he teaches you what you need to know for the next test. Every week, usually after a test or quiz, we play a game of “volleyball,” which is where a beach ball is thrown into the middle of the classroom and our job is to pass it around before it hits the ground. My class currently has the all-time record of around 300.

                If the class is behaving, he’ll take us to lunch every other Wednesday to either Subway or Wendy’s. If we are a responsible class for the whole week, he’ll take us to Hoagie’s which is a delicious philly cheesesteak restaurant down the street from the school. Whenever he takes us to Hoagie’s, usually once a month, we do not have to go to the next period, which is study hall in homeroom.

                Like I said, Mr. Hanks is an awesome teacher, but he can get angry like every other teacher. If the class is told to quiet down but keeps talking after being told several times, he gets mad and give us extra homework. This only happened in the beginning of the school year; towards the end we listened to him more.

                Mr. Hanks still works at my old school (Hueneme Christian) and loves what he does. I am not sure how long he plans to keep working there, but for the sake of other students, I hope he keeps his job as a teacher. I personally believe that it is his calling.

Between Two Worlds by Zainab Salbi

Between Two Worlds - Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam is a non-fiction book written by Zainab Salbi depicting her life growing up under the rule of worldly known terrorist leader Saddam Hussein. When she was young, she lived in a wealthy Baghdad family that was socially famous throughout their country. Saddam added Zainab's family to his list of close friends as he built up his political strength, and eventually forced Zainab's father to become his personal pilot. It was at this point that Zainab and her family's fear of Saddam really began to rise. Threats of murder, deportation, and imprisonment turned their family from peppy, fun, and exciting to angry and scared. Her parents argued to the point they divorced and split. To save her daughter, Zainab's mother arranged her to be married to an Iraqi immigrant in the U.S. who ended up abusing her. She got out of that marriage and formed her charity, Women's International.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It really opened my eyes to the personal experiences Saddam Hussein's rule had on people. I have never really looked into Saddam's influence on the world or the people he immediately ruled over, but this booked educated me on that. His main way to control people was through fear and threats of death or torture through imprisonment or deportation, which Zainab's family almost face. It is also very inspirational how Zainab used her experiences to create an organization, Women's International, to help women who have been in her situation. I highly recommend this book to read.

Poetry - Keep on Keeping on by Michael Sage

Keep on Keeping on
by Michael Sage

We’ve all had times, when the going gets tough
The smooth ride suddenly, feels bumpy and rough
The good times are gone, it’s all rather gruff
You let out a sigh and exclaim – “I’ve had enough”

We are all entitled at times, to gripe and to moan
What’s happened to my life, you say with a groan?
My backpack seems weighed down, by a very big stone
How do I move away, from this miserable zone?

When a curved ball hits you, through a trick or a con
Remember the good days, when the sun always shone
Go forward with the belief, that you already have won
The best advice I can give, is to keep on - keeping on

This poem is a lyrical ballad about perseverance that contains many examples of assonance and a few examples of figurative speech. The assonance that can be seen in this poem takes place at the end of each and every line, with the repetition of vowel sounds being used. For example, the ending word on line one is tough, which sounds the same as the last word on line two, which is rough. Figurative speech is used, for example, when the poet states, "my backpack seems weighed down, by a very big stone". This statement means that the person in mention is going though hard times and is struggling to get through them.

Antigone

The story of Antigone can be symbolized in many different ways using the two main characters, Antigone and Creon. Their relationship with each other can be symbolized as the fight between male vs. female, family ties vs. civic duty, man vs. nature, etc. In my opinion, the story most symbolizes the struggle between family ties and civic duty. Antigone is faced with a decision that can either end her life (which it ends up doing) or letting her see another day. Creon's decree that made it illegal to give Polyneices, who is Antigone's brother, a proper burial because he believes he was a traitor infuriates Antigone. Even after being begged by her sister, Ismene, not to risk her life, she ends up making the decision to bury Polyneices, which ultimately ends up her death. Personally, I think that the smarter decision would have been to leave Polyneices' body alone and not try to bury him for several reasons. One, burying Polyneices would give Antigone satisfaction, yes, but it was inevitable that she would be captured and end up dying. Plus, if she dies, her sister Ismene would be left all alone, for Antigone is the only surviving family she has left. Also, in the end, Polyneices' body wasn't even properly buried! Antigone was caught before she was even able to start the process of putting him six feet deep. It would be a much smarter decision in the long run to follow the law in order to stay alive and carry on their family name instead of dying and leaving her sister alone in the world.

Religion in Night

Religion is one of the three most prominent themes in the book Night by Elie Wiesel. It is the main reason the concentration camps were created, for people believing in the Jewish religion were the ones persecuted. They were perceived as inferior because of their faith, and for that reason they were placed on the road to extermination by the Nazi Germans. Throughout the book, Elie, as well as his fellow Jews, severely question their own faiths, and they wonder how any just and loving God can let such terrible atrocities occur at all. Night depicts how a person’s faith is truly tested through times of hardship, and how easily terrible events can either destroy one’s faith or, on the contrary, strengthen it.

            When the story begins, Elie is a young boy seeking to further his religious studies and solidify his Jewish faith even more. Every night he studies the Talmud and goes to the temple in his town, Sighet, to pray. He wishes to begin studying Kabbalah, but his father does not let him. While at the town synagogue, a man by the name of Moishe the Beadle begins to secretly teach Elie all about Kabbalah, for he is an expert on the subject. One day, the Hungarian police come to Elie’s town and expel all of the foreign Jews from there. Moishe is actually a foreigner, so he and many others are packed onto a train car and taken away. When he returns, he is frightful. “Moishe was not the same. The joy in his eyes was gone. He no longer sang. He no longer mentioned either God or Kabbalah. He spoke only of what he had seen.” (1.29-31). At this point, he no longer speaks of God, which can lead one to the assumption that after witnessing the mass murder of Jewish people he has lost his faith in God.

            As we progress further into the story of Night, Eliezer has entered the concentration camp with his father. On his first night there, he witnesses atrocities beyond belief. He sees Nazi soldiers tossing human babies that are still alive into fire pits and into the air to be shot at, as if for target practice. He sees dead people of all ages being taken into the crematorium to be burned to ashes, and watches as the smoke rises from the chimney. These moments shake Elie’s faith to the core, much similar to how Moishe’s experiences at the camp shook his. “Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.” (3.68-75)

             Though Elie has lost all faith towards the book’s end, he still prays for strength to keep himself from abandoning his father. “‘Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu’s son has done.’" (6.65-66). His faith is a key in his will to stay alive.

            All of the hardships and trials Elie faced in the camps played parts to the deterioration of his faith. The atrocities the Nazis committed against his people tested his beliefs, and for a while, I believed that his faith was completely gone and that he had become an atheist. Yet, we see that he stayed with his faith through his trials, for it gave him comfort and willpower.

Cholo Goth

So recently I found out about this really cool band called "PRAYERS". It's a two man synth pop band with one guy making the beats and the main guy on the vocals. If you didn't see what the guys looked like, you'd think it was just a normal synth pop band, but after looking into the image of the group, my interest in them rose a ton. Their persona can be described in the phrase "cholo goth". Both of the members are illegal immigrants from Mexico who came to the U.S. and ended up joining gangs. As they grew up, they were interested in things of gothic culture, like the music, clothes, etc, but they were constantly bullied because of this. The vocalist says in a documentary Noisey did on the duo, "I didn't fit in with the cholos because I'm goth, and I didn't fit in with goths because I'm a cholo." They're a pretty interesting band. Here are links to the documentary on them and my favorite song they made.

Noisey  documentary on PRAYERS
https://youtu.be/HQjtFc8sNtI

PRAYERS - From Dog To God
https://youtu.be/qVvabsXFT7w

I Got My Permit!

During the month of April, I finally finished my drivers Ed course and took my permit test, which I passed! I could've had my permit way back in August or September if I had started my drivers Ed course right when I turned fifteen and a half, but I didn't end up buying the online course until January of this year. Then after I got it, I lagged about completing it and taking my permit test until three months later in April. On the test, I missed four out of the seven questions we are allowed to miss. I was pretty nervous while I was taking it because I forgot my book to study at home and had to study off of practice tests I found on the Internet using my iPhone. Also, another reason I was nervous was because I was taking my test all the way out in Granada Hills, which is really far away from my home in Oxnard. I would feel really bad if I had failed and had to go all the way back home and have to drive out to Granada Hills later on. I was super relieved when I got to the end of the test and found that I passed it! Now I just have to do my first drivers training lesson and I'll be able to get on the road!

Link Crew

I decided to become a part of Link Crew for my Junior year of high school (which is next year). Link crew is made up of juniors and seniors who do volunteer work during the summer and help with orientation of the incoming freshman. Originally, I was going to join ASB before I found out about Link Crew, because that was the first extracurricular activity at school other than sports I could think of. Unfortunately, I don't have any space in my junior year schedule to be in the ASB class, so I decided to try out for Link Crew, which there isn't a class period for. Thankfully I got in! I had a few close calls with getting kicked out for almost being late (Mr. Melhorn, the founder and supervisor of Link Crew, is REAAALLY strict about being on time), so from now on I'm gonna be super early to all the activities we do. I'm really looking forward to being involved with Link Crew over the summer!

Finals Week

The week of finals has finally come around. It seems like just the other day the first semester had ended and we were entering the second phase of the school year. Now, in just a week and a half, school is going to be out and summer is going to begin. Before I can start relaxing though, I have to study hard and do well on my finals.

My English and biology finals I'm not too worried about. The only final that I'm actually kind of scared of taking is my math final, so I'm probably going to study for that one most. Fortunately, I don't have to take the ap euro final since I took the AP exam, and I don't have a final for track. Wish me luck!