FREE: A Dream Deferred

"What happens to a dream deferred?"

What happens to a person when they have a dream? When someone has a major goal in life? When someone aspires towards something? They tend to strive. To go to their limits to achieve that goal. They live on excitement, they live on motivation. But what happens when that dream is no longer there? When that dream gets cut off? When that dream gets deferred?

When I was 10, I went to a camp called the Mosaic Project. It was a week long program in the Napa Valley, originally designed for the disabled. We slept in cabins, sang songs around the campfire, and learned about life skills such as empathy. It was the first, and most amazing experience I've ever had. We had cabin leaders there. They were teenagers assigned to supervise us kids. I swore to myself, one day I would definitely return to the Mosaic Project as a cabin leader. Having that goal in mind, I was beyond excited. My mom on the other hand didn't understand my goal. She didn't know why I wanted to leave home for another couple weeks, she didn't wanna spend the money, or drive me up to Napa. With that knowledge, my dream was gone. Knowing that the chances of accomplishing that goal were slim, my excitement soon turned to disappointment. Disappointment to me, is the main consequence of a deferred dream.

What do you think happens when a dream is deferred?

CE: 1 Out Of 18.

Thursday afternoon, a toddler laying in the middle of the street, unquestionably injured after being ran over multiple times. If she was obviously harmed, why was she still laying unconscious on the road?

Yue Yue, a Chinese toddler, was ran over repeatedly Thursday afternoon in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China. You'd think after seeing such a young life on the line, someone would've immediately helped her, right? Wrong. 18 pedestrians and cyclists passed right on by without calling an ambulance, or even helping Yue Yue off the street. Thank goodness Chen Xianmei, a 57 year old nearby, had the decency to move her off to the side of the street, and called for help, saving her life.

When I heard the news, and heard that over a dozen people passed by without helping her in the slightest way seemed so incredibly wrong to me. It made me think, "Is it that hard to be a good person nowadays? What has the world come to?" It's shocking that only 1 person out of 18 people chose to stop, and chose to save a life.

Though it's sickening to know that so many people are so heartless nowadays, it's refreshing to know that there's still some kind-hearted, generous people out there in the world.

FREE: Appearance.

Appearance. One dilemma everybody shares. Whether it's a pimple, or the way you dress, appearance seems to be an issue everyone has to deal with, some more than others.

Before I used to think appearance was an extremely big deal. Having to look presentable anywhere I go. Even if it's to the grocery store, or to a family member's house, I'd always have to put myself together. But as lifes progresses, the need to "dress to impress" becomes less and less important to me. Now when I think about it, who am I trying to impress? Nobody. As long as I feel comfortable in my own skin, why should I feel the need to impress anyone else? Unless I have one of those high school puppy crushes, but I don't at the moment. Lately I've been noticing that I've been downgrading the way I present myself. Not meaning that I don't care how I present myself now, it just means that I don't put as much effort into looking nice everywhere I go. Instead of spending a couple hours a night looking for something to wear, I'll settle with anything I can find in about 30 minutes that looks decent.

What I've come to realize is that appearance isn't everything. Just because you look nice on the outside, doesn't mean anything else. You shouldn't spend so much time worrying about such a topic, because appearance isn't everything.

RP: Cellphones? Unnecessary.

"But yeah, I'll get a text and just look at my phone and throw it on my bed or something." - Vicky Hoang

I completely agree with Vicky. To me, technology is starting to bore me. Before, whenever I got a call or a text message, I'd pick up or text back right away, or as soon as I saw it. When my bill came, my mom would always ask who I text to have hit over 15,000 messages that month. But lately, I've been getting really lazy with all that. If someone calls me and I miss it, chances are I won't call back, unless it's someone important like my mom. If someone texts me, 99.99% of the time, I won't text back. I'd read it, then re-lock my phone and toss it back to wherever it was. Honestly, it's not because I don't want to talk to the person, it's because I'm too lazy to even reply.

I remember when I first got texting, I was so excited. I wanted to text everyone, I wanted everyone to text me. At a point, I felt that I couldn't even live without my phone(exaggerating), but I did think that. And even though I felt such love towards my phone before, I find that as time goes on, my phone becomes less and less important to me. Sure, it's a good thing to have incase of emergency. But now, I can probably say I could go without a cellphone.

Before if you asked me, "Do you think you can live without your phone?" I'd probably reply, "NO." But now, if you asked me the same question, I'd reply, "Yes, cellphones aren't necessary to live."

CE: Sick.

An underground issue that has finally surfaced. Priests sexually abusing minors? Yes, priests. The reports have increasingly been flooding in, in Europe and the US. Have these cases been brought to justice? After years of sweeping these reports under the carpet, the world is beginning to take legal notice to these sickening actions.

 "When at age 15, I called the diocese to report the rapes they hung up on me." - Megan Peterson, 21.


Disgusting. Revolting. Disgraceful. All words I can think of to describe not only the priests accountable for these actions, but also the figure of authority who was supposed to be responsible of handling the result of those actions. It's one thing to be the abuser, but what makes you better if someone has chosen to confide in you, and seek your help, and all you can think to do is hang up the phone. Shame.


In my mind, I thought priests were supposed to be against those gruesome actions. To be against those merciless people. I never thought of them to be the ones hiding behind such crimes. And for them to be sexually assaulting minors, and still being able to wander the streets freely is ridiculous. The world has taken the first step of recognizing the situation, but let's take the second step. Let's get rid of these sick, twisted people, and put them behind bars.

RP: School Makes You Cool.

"The choices that some people make really confuse me. You're offered free education, something that isn't available to everyone and yet still decide to take it for granted." - Peter Nguyen

In the country we live in, we're fortunate enough to have a free public education. And in school, we're given numerous opportunities to improve the chances of our futures. With a deal like that, you'd think each and every member of the student body would be thankful for a such an education. But instead, you observe many students destroying their futures instead of building them up, because they think they're "too cool for school."

I agree with Peter's statement. Many kids nowadays have such a negative attitude towards school. I'll admit, I've had my fair share of days where I didn't feel like going to school, or where I'd complain about how I hate school. But in all honesty, I love school. Besides the fact that it's a place offering me a free education and a chance at a better future, it's a place that allows me to associate with people foreign to me, even allowing me to create life long bonds with some of them. It disappoints me to see the negativity and disrespect towards school from some students. Disrespecting school rules because they're, "too cool for school." Disrespecting teachers because they're, "too cool for school." And even disrespecting peers because they're, "too cool for school."

When I see people with that attitude, it completely changes my perspective of them as a person. Honestly, it makes me think of them of a person that I frankly don't wanna be associated with. Coming to school with your mind set on not wanting to be there, or being there to disrupt the learning environment of others in UNcool. But coming to school ready to learn, with a positive respectful attitude, makes you incredibly cool.

FREE: Pride.

Orange. The color assigned to us sophomores. Tomorrow is the day of our homecoming game, also the day where each class wears their class colors. I wonder who really has pride to be a sophomore.

Last year, being a freshman our color was a bland shade of gray. &to avoid being boo'd & pennied, I chose to show up at school in a neutral white. I can honestly say I wasn't proud to be a freshman that day. But this year, it's a completely different story. Weeks before homecoming, I went shopping for all things orange. An orange tee shit, orange socks, and even orange face paint. I know this year I can show my school spirit & pride to be a sophomore. I don't have to hide anymore, and I can finally walk around with my war paint on. I'm ready for tomorrow, to get up in the morning, put my orange on, get through the day, the pep rally, and even to see our class float. Already ready, I can't wait for Alameda High's homecoming day :)

BC: Words Of Inspiration.

As you may know, the ex-CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, recently passed due to Pancreatic cancer. Before he passed, he made a speech. One of the things he said was, "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." After I read  that, I stopped for a second to think about what he meant, but I didn't understand it. As I kept reading, he said, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" With that, I began to get an idea of what he meant. Even though he already knew he was on the road to death, he still used that quote to get the most out of everyday. I began to understand the quote that inspired the way he lived his life for the past 33 years.

Hearing this quote for the first time opened up a door to me that I didn't even know existed. It opened up a whole new perspective of life to me. It made me realize a lot more that I hadn't even thought to think about before. If I woke up tomorrow morning, looked in the mirror, and asked myself, "If this was going to be my last day to live, would I actually want to do what I'm going to do today?" I'd realize that if I lived my last day yielding to my normal routine, I would've ended my life half liven. Doing the things I had to do, instead of the things I wanted to do. Not experiencing all the things I wanted to have experienced. Not seeing places I wanted to have seen. In my mind, I wouldn't have even lived.


"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life." - Steve Jobs


That was his way of making big decisions, and I see where he's coming from. I agree with him actually. To keep in mind that your life could be over at any day, at any second, affects the way you think so much more than you think now. You would want to make the decisions most beneficial for you, so you could have lived your life proudly & prosperously, right? Well I don't know about you, but that's how I'd want to live my life. So with every decision I make, If I think about that one saying, I think I'd make the better choices in life for me.

I realized that there is so much more to fulfill in life, and that our time is precious. Not a second should be wasted, because that second could be your very last. It makes you think about so much more, and it makes you see life in a completely different way. It makes you appreciate so much more. And what I'm hoping is that this quote will have the same effect on the rest of my community, if better more, than it did on me. Thank you for these words of inspiration, may your legacy live on, Steve Jobs.

CE: Fat Tax?

Denmark has imposed the worlds first fat tax on it's country with intentions to prevent the intake of fatty foods and obesity. The tax affects foods such as milk and butter, to pizza and meat. Their plan is to increase the prices of anything eatable with fats an oils incorporated, to decrease the chances of weight gain & unhealthy diseases related to the intake of those foods, such as fast foods. Do you think this is an intelligent approach to the situation?

Do I understand where they're coming from? Yes I do. Do I think they've created this tax with good intentions? Yes I do. But do I think this plan will succeed? No I don't. To be honest, I don't think the low prices & easy access to the fatty foods is the problem. I think that if people just eat in moderation, consuming such foods wouldn't be such an issue. For example, I myself eat fast foods, such as french fries, pizza, and cakes. But I eat them in moderation, and if I wanted to purchase more, I don't think it'd be fair for me to pay more. In all actuality, I really doubt that raising the prices on these foods will change much. Sure, maybe some people will cut down on buying so much. But I'm almost positive that the majority of the population will still purchase those foods if that's what they really want. So do I believe this tax will stick around for countless years to come? I'm almost positive it won't. What do you think?

RP: Another Word For Music? Home.

"I like the feeling of being in my own little world, have my music on, and I can express my feeling or emotions."


I know exactly what he's talking about when he says this. When I have my music on, I feel like I can shut out the remainder of the world and concentrate on myself. I can let out and express my emotions. For me, and I'm sure many for many other people, it's just a favor music does for us.

Music. There's many genres, many artists, and many songs to choose from. It can cope to anyone's taste, it's versatile. It's diverse. But the one thing music does for everyone, is that it allows you to express yourself no matter what mood you're in, and that's what I love about it.

Personally, music is my main source of comfort. Music is something I can always turn to, like a best friend. No matter what mood I happen to be in, there's always a song that matches it. If I'm in a happy excited mood, I could put on an upbeat fast song, and the music will be there with me almost holding my hand and dancing with me. If I'm feeling down, I could put on a soft slow jam, and the music would be there almost holding me and crying with me. My main point is music is comfort. It will be there whenever you need it to be, that's a guarantee. In my opinion, music is home.

FREE: What I'm Thankful Most For.

Ever had one of those days when you feel like it just isn't your day? When you don't even feel like getting out of bed? When everyone just seems to irritate you for no apparent reason? Well I'm having one of those days,  and I love how you always have those friends who can brighten up your mood without even seeming to try. Those are the friends I'm thankful for.

It's Wednesday after school, and the weather's been bipolar all day. With rain and sun, then rain and sun again. At the moment, the weather is hideous outside. Cold, windy, and rainy. My day at school, not so great. Sleeping through every class besides PE, and being either angry or apathetic while I was awake. I obviously did not have a 7 hour long school day filled with daisies and cotton candy. All I could think about all day was getting through that excruciating day as fast as possible, so I could go home and sleep through the rest of the day. I didn't have any plans for after school, and I didn't really want any either. I didn't think anything could make my day brighter. But then came along my good friend Ariel. Convincing me to hangout after school instead of going home, I felt better. With a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, a board game of Life, and some extremely funny advice, my day got so much better.

I'm thankful to have people like that in my life. Friends that're willing to listen to what I have to say when I'm not having the best day. Friends who can make me laugh and smile without even trying. Friends that I'm positive will always be there for me. They're what gets me through the day. I can honestly say I wouldn't even know where I'd be without my friends. So they're what I'm thankful most for.

ESSAY: Humans, A Question With No Correct Answer.

What is a human? Sure, you can look up the scientific definiton of a human being. But what do you think makes humans different? What qualities do you think humans have that seperate them from any other animal or species? What do you think makes us humans, human? Everyone has there different opinion, but can anyone really give us a correct specific answer?

• A Human Being: Any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage. 

 That's the scientific definition of a human being, but what does that really say about us? That we're smarter than other species? That we can talk? That we can stand up straight? Yeah, I suppose I agree because those are all facts of qualities that distinctly make us human. But what I didn't see in the scientific definition, that I thought should have been incorporated somehow, was something about emotion. Something about feelings. I feel like the fact that humans have the incredible ability to feel happiness, pain, sadness, and excitement is extraordinary. I feel like it's a deeper quality that makes us human.

I already know there's going to be some people would argue with what I'm saying and say that animals can feel the same way too. I wouldn't completely disagree with the argument that they're trying to put out because I understand where they're coming from, but I would disagree to an extent. Animals can feel too, that's the part I agree with. But I don't think they have the "superior intelligence" that was specifically given to us to express and understand those emotions. And besides just understanding our own feelings, it's the way we carry out to handle these situations.

For example, if we felt threatened by something or someone, we have the common sense and tolerance to ignore and avoid that threatening situation. But in most cases, if animals felt threated by something or someone, their natural instinct is to attack and fight to get on top. Natural selection, in other words. I feel like they live in a world where only the toughest, only the strongest survive. But us, I feel we all equal and have the same chance and level of intelligence to survive in this world.

Something I've seen in the past, is a situation where someone seemed so perfect.Where someone seemed so programmed. Where it seemed like they could make no mistakes, and where it seemed like they could show no emotion. Never crying, never smiling, and always stoic. People called her a robot. They said it wasn't healthy, normal, or even human to be so unblemished. In a world with so many imperfections and glitches, how could something so emotionless be produced? Well one day, it was only natural that she broke. Her perfect porcelain shell finally cracked. And though it was under anger, not laughter or happiness, it showed she was capable of showing emotion. It showed she was capable of feeling. And after people observed such an unusual outbreak, their perspectives of her changed. The labels "perfect", "programmed", and "robot" vanished. And a new perspective of her came into mind, they called her human.

I can think of another way that distinguishes us from other species, that we have the distinct ability to feel regret, to feel guilt, to feel remorse. For example, animals in the world kill each other all the time. Whether it's for territorial reasons, survival reasons, or just as a game, it's like second nature to them. They are taught to hunt and kill from the day they begin to walk, it's apart of how they live. After killing, they praise themselves. They don't regret what they've done, because that state of mind doesn't exist in the lifestyle they've been raised to live under. But with us, it's a different story. If we do something as little as lying, or as big as murdering, chances are, we will feel guilt and/or regret. Because that's the state of mind we've been raised to live under. Knowing all our lives that those wrong doings are not okay, we will probably be devoured by guilt, and filled to the rim with regret.

Before when I was asked the question, "what do you think makes a human being human?" I always replied, "I don't know. The fact we can talk and stand tall?" I always relied on the scientific definition because that's all that naturally came to mind, like a reflex. I realized I never really dug deep and broke down the aspects or differential qualities that a human specifically and specially has to classify them as human. As I thought more and more about it, so much more than the broad definition of "superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage" came to mind. Emotion to me, was the most important and interesting because I feel like without emotion, we'd be completely flawless. The whole idea of us crying, screaming in anger, squealing out of happiness makes us so down to earth, and completely human. To me, that's the complete base of humanity.

Humans, they are a roller coaster on two feet. With constant changing emotions, it makes us seem crazy. How we can go from pure happiness to heart throbbing pain. How we can go from being extremely apathetic to party throwing excited, all in a time period of a few seconds. How to explain that exactly? Nobody knows, but that's what distinctly categorizes us and labels us as humans.

So next time someone asks you, "what makes a human being human?" Don't just turn to the scientific definition that you could google search in a second. Take a minute and think about it. Because in all actuality, this is such a broad topic that it's almost impossible to get wrong. The idea of emotion being a human's strong point and base, is just my opinion. So dig deep, think about it. Because humans are a question with no correct answer.

CE: The Hype Of Social Networking.

Facebook. One of the most popular social networking websites. Facebook is so common among society nowadays, ranging  from 10 year olds, to 60 year olds. Some of the main questions you ask someone when you meet them is, "what's your name?" "Where do you go to school?" &"Do you have a facebook?" Now that this website has become such a necessity in life, do you think you could live without it?
Everyone uses facebook. And now that it's becoming more and more popular, facebook decided to update itself by adding some new changes. Of course, many both agree and disagree with the changes. Some say, "the changes are ridiculous, I don't want to see what everyone's doing at every second of everyday." &others say, "I like the new changes, it's allowing access to so much more." Personally, I'm a bit of both. I do get annoyed by the changes sometimes, but on the other hand, I could really care less.
With all the talk of changes, and facebook shutting down, I wonder how many people could live without it. Honestly, I do spend a lot of time on facebook. I'm always logged in, but that's only because I'm always on mobile. But if it came down to it, I could probably live without it. The way I think of it, facebook is just a hype, a phase. Who knows how long this phase will last, but I consider it like myspace. Remember that old thing? People used to treat myspace like facebook, until facebook came along. And what's going to happen when a new, improved technological website comes along? I think we'll most likely over time, abandon facebook. So ask yourself this, do you think you could live without facebook?

RP: Next Time, Think Twice.

    "I believe that crying doesn't make you a baby at all."
I completely agree with Bridget on this one. I don't know why, but a lot of people tend to believe that if you cry, you're a baby. &that's completely untrue. I mean, I suppose it does depend on the reason why you're crying. But in most cases, you can't call someone a baby because their emotions have reached their limit, because think about it, it's not like you haven't ever done the same.
Crying. A common result of sadness, anger, and in a few cases, pure stupidity. Maybe it's because you're saddened by a broken heart. Maybe it's because you're angered by being misunderstood. Or maybe it's because you broke a nail, which then I would probably call you a cry baby too.
I believe crying is a complete release of stress. It does in fact make you feel better. I've heard a quote before, and it said, "crying doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you've been strong for too long." And in most cases, I believe that. Everyone goes through something different, something nobody can completely understand besides yourself. And you wouldn't believe it, but many people paint smiles on their faces to get through an excruciating day. They keep all their problems&sincere emotions bottled up inside of them, not sharing them with a soul. So honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if one day, they broke. If one day they felt they couldn't handle it anymore. If one day, they felt all that bottled up stress became too much for them to hold control over. If the only way to relieve that sort of weight off of you was to cry. To let go, and to release all that stress and rage until you've gone completely numb. And to people who don't understand that, or think it's stupid when people cry, think about why they could be crying. You don't know the story behind their emotion, so it'd basically be the same as judging a book by it's cover. Next time, think twice before calling someone a baby.

FREE: Bittersweet.

Last weekend, my family and I took a trip to San Diego, CA. We didn't go to visit family, we didn't go to sight see, and we didn't go to have a good time. We went to drop my older sister off so she could start her first year of college. It was one of those things that nobody wanted to happen, but it HAD to happen.
My sister and I are 3 years apart. Even when we were kids, we constantly fought. Most of the time about sharing clothes, food, anything. But my whole life, she's been the person I've confided in. The person who's completely accepted me with all my flaws. The person who's been there for me my entire life. Even though we would get mad at each other on a daily basis, and scream at each other for the stupidest reasons, she was the closest thing to me. Last year after she graduated from her senior year of high school as a hornet, I knew that soon, she was gonna leave. It never sank in, it never hit me hard. I didn't think I was gonna miss her, and I really didn't think it was gonna be a big deal. But as summer progressed, I became even closer with her than I already was. During the day, we would go shopping together. Just the 2 of us. We would take walks together and talk about things that wouldn't come up in normal conversation. She would come into my room every single night, sit on my bed, and we would talk and laugh until late hours of the morning. One night, I remember clearly. I was feeling really down, I didn't wanna talk to anyone or do anything. My sister came in and immediately knew something was wrong. She shut the door behind her, and sat down next to me. She listened and gave me advice from her point of view, not telling me what I had to do, but her opinion on what I should do. That night she didn't leave me, she slept in my room and made sure I was A-okay. Nights like those made me feel so thankful that I had an older, wiser sister to turn to in situations like those.
The night before we left to drop her off, she asked me, "will you miss me?" Of course I said yeah, but I didn't really feel it. After we arrived, set up her dorm, and shopped around for extras that she needed, it was time for us to go our separate ways. When I hugged her for the last time before getting into our car, I started to cry. Because I knew I wasn't going to see her everyday anymore, I knew we weren't gonna have anymore of those nights together anymore. She's not gonna know when I'm feeling down and won't be able to cheer me up anymore. Only then did I realize how much I was going to miss her. How it wasn't going to be the same when she was gone. But then I thought, she's attending U.C San Diego, an amazing school. Good things are gonna happen to her, so I should be happy. I never really understood the quote, "you don't know what you have until it's gone." People usually associate that quote with relationships and situations in that category. But I found it worked even better in this situation. I really didn't know what my sister was to me until she was gone. And even though I miss her everyday, I know she's gonna strive. There's only one word I could think of to describe this situation, bittersweet.

BC: The Curious Case Of Oreo, My Dog

...All I could see was black. Nothing but a sea pure darkness. I could feel the cold damp air against my skin... You may be wondering how I ended up stuck in this situation, so let me take you back about 2 hours where my day began.
I woke up today at about the same time as any other day. Early, to birds chirping, and the bright yellow sun shining in my eyes. This morning was different. Usually my dog Oreo, a black and white poodle chihuahua, would be my alarm clock by rubbing it's cold wet button nose against my soft cheek. It was extremely strange, abnormal. Where could Oreo be? The first thing I thought of to do was panic. I frantically searched high and low, ran through every single room, looking into every single crack and crevice that his tiny body could possibly fit into. And the same result every single time, Oreo was nowhere to be found. I suddenly remembered one place I haven't checked yet. A closet, so stuffed full of unnecessary and useless items I've bought over the years, I never feel the need to open it. As I opened the closet door everything collapsed out, leaving a trail of rubbish and dust. But still, no Oreo. But there was something else, something I caught at the very corner of my eye. Something I've never seen before. A door. A big, old, wooden, broken down door. I was hesitant to open it at first, but my curiosity got the best of me. I put my hand on the cold copper doorknob and slowly twisted it to the right. It let out a loud creak as it opened. All I could see was black. Nothing but a sea of pure darkness. I could feel the cold damp air against my skin. A sharp chill ran down my spine. I was afraid, and I felt like i couldn't move. But once again, my curiosity got the best of me. Without thinking, I took gentle and quiet steps into the unknown room. And before I knew it, the door shut quickly behind me. I could feel the panic bulding up inside me, but seconds before I completely freaked out, I heard a bark. And no ordinary bark, it was Oreo.
When I heard the sound of Oreo's innocent, afraid bark, all the panic disappeared. I knew I had to keep going, I had to find my best friend. I had no idea where I was going. Whether the path was narrow or broad. Whether objects were cluttered in front of me or if I was in a completely empty room. All I could do was stick my long scrawny arms out in front of me and hope that I wouldn't collide into harm's way. As I continued to take careful slow baby steps, I heard Oreo's barks grow louder and louder. I got down on all 4s and started crawling. I was hoping that if I felt around the cold hard floor, I would come across Oreo's soft warm body. After about 3 hours, searching all over this dark cold room, I finally put my hand on a warm blooded furry body. And suddenly, I knew. I found Oreo. And after I found Oreo, all the lights came on, and the old wooden door opened itself letting us out. I never questioned why, or how this unusual situation occurred. I was just glad I found my dog.

CE: An Outsider Looking In.

 This video in particular caught my eye. As i was watching this, it reminded me of the horrible times in the past like slavery. Not only that, but it showed me how different they were than us. How much harder they work, how much more appreciative they are of what they have. I really feel like an outsider looking in.
After watching this video, i immediately thought of the many differences that lied between us.  Like the fact that they work so hard in underpaid and abusive jobs, and to be grateful for the little pay they get. What makes them so different from us is that we work in dignified and respectful jobs, but we still complain about the pay we get. What it made me realize is that they are much more simplistic than us, less corrupted by technology and money. That after being treated so disrespectfully, and being paid so little, they still are happy with what they have just because they made enough to support their families. As little as 18$ a month to support their whole families. 18$ wouldn't last most americans a week. That's what i find so amazing. Their appreciation for money, for what they have and what they can get is so much more than ours. We are on completely different levels. And that's what i found so interesting about this video.

RP: What Will Become Of My Future?

"Iam always so confused when it comes to the topic of my future. I don'thave any idea of where I want to college, what I want my profession tobe, or anything about my future at all actually." - Peter Nguyen

The question that constantly gets asked is, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Starting from when we were toddlers in preschool, to 5th graders in elementary school, and even now, 10th graders in highschool, we still get asked this same question. When i was a in preschool, i said a princess. When i was in elementary school, i said a teacher. But when i get asked this question now, my answer is i have no clue. I agree with Peter completely. When he said he didn't know what to say when it came to thoughts about future, professions, college. Now, i have many thoughts about what to be. I've thought about being a writer, a psychologist, and many other things. But i can't say any of those with a true passion, aspiration, or sureness. What i find hard to answer is, how come when i was asked this question when i was little, i was so confident in what i wanted to be when i grew up. But now, i can't settle with anything yet. I guess this is the age where i have to take this question seriously so i decide where i'll end up in life, but it's hard. Honestly, it's scary to think about something so serious. And maybe that's why i haven't really taken it seriously, because i was afraid of where it might take me.
I'm sure i'll be asked this question many more times in the future, and i'm sure i'll name completely different professions every single time. But until i find something i'm sincerely passionate about, and truly inspired by, i won't be sure. So when you ask me, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I'll honestly answer, i don't know.

FREE: Coming Up.

Coming up is Halloween, followed by my birthday. And that's all that's been on my mind lately. On the weekend of the 29th and 30th, some of my best friends and I are gonna go to Fright Fest at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo to celebrate Halloween and my birthday.

I've never ever been to a Halloween event at an amusement park before and I'm so excited. Although i scare really easily, like REALLY easily, that is the one thing that I'm looking forward to MOST in the next couple months. Combining the 2 things I love the most in the world, roller coasters and my friends, I'm definitely going to have the best day ever. For costumes, I was thinking of our group to go as a box of crayons. Like each of us would dress up as a different color. But the only thing I'm worried about is that our crayon hats would fly off during the rides. But you know what i hate? When people say they can go, and bail on us last minute. Like, come on guys! The tickets are NON REFUNDABLE, and we're not going with an odd amount of people. Because then someone would have to sit alone on a ride and that's not gonna be me for sure. But what's even worse is people who pay to go, show up, then nag and complain about everything and every ride. Like how they say, "oh, I'm so scared." "Oh, I'm so tired." "Oh, I'm gonna have a heart attack and die and it's going to be all your fault cause you're making me go on it." Like, boo hoo. Suck it up, or just tell me that you're a scaredy cat and stay home. Because i know you're gonna be a party pooper of the day if that's all you're gonna do. But I'm positive if none of those go, then we'll all have a fantastic time.

RP: Irreplaceable.

When kids say, “Oh, I hate my parents!” it bugs me. Okay, well, I must admit, I’ve said this a thousand of times, but I realized how lucky I am to even have a parent. Getting back to my point, people these days needs to open their eyes and see all of the things our parents do for us.- Kristy Vo

I completely agree with Kristy. I believe many kids take what they have for granted, including their parents and what they do for us. My mom is an immigrant from Vietnam, and i can't really say much about my dad because he's never really around. But my mom is the most important and powerful woman in my life. I know she's done so much for me, and it's really only fair for me to repay her. Of course, there are times where she's gotten me mad and I've said things to her that i don't mean. But nobody can replace your mom, she is home. All her life, she's worked and worked and worked. For what? To support her children, and to give us the lives and things she never got to have as a child. I'm really fortunate to have someone in my life who takes care of me and worries for me so much. I hear so many kids say that their parents make them so mad that they can't wait to get out of the house, just to be away from them. It's their opinion, but i honestly do feel bad for them. Because once you lose your parents, you don't have anything to fall back on. Will your friends be there your whole life? Probably not. But your parents will. I'm right on board when Kristy said it bothered her when kids bitch about their parents, because they go to lengths and jump through hoops to ensure your health and safety, all while showering your with unconditional love. And for all they do for you, the least you could do is the same.

FREE: Heated Hair Appliances: A Pain In The Butt.

I am Asian American. And people seem to have the stereotype that all Asians have naturally straight hair. Well let me tell you something, you are WRONG. I have a full Asian background, and my hair is not naturally straight. Though i wish it was. It's wavy, it's poofy, and i wake up looking like I've been sleeping in a tornado all night. That kind of hair is not the business.

Every morning, i straighten my hair with a heated ceramic straightener. I never ever put my hair up. But last week, i did one of the stupidest things you could think of. While i was straightening my hair, i had like a hand spasm, dropped it, AND tried to catch it. Can you find the 2 things i did wrong that day? Well if you can't, i wasn't supposed to drop it. And if i did, i was most definitely not supposed to catch it while it was like burning hot. So the outcome? I broke my straightener, and burned my finger. Can you say fail? Well i couldn't get a new straightener until the weekend, so i had to put my hair up every single day if i didn't wanna look like an Asian non-alien version of Medusa. But i finally got my new straightener! So i don't have to put my hair up anymore. It always reminds me that i would not have to go through all the trouble if i just had naturally straight hair.

CE: We Are No Different.

Yes. Without a doubt, the tragedy of 9/11 has affected and impacted our country immensely. In some ways, expected. Like doing whatever we can think of to improve our airport securities. But in some ways, unexpected. Like changing our racial views on other cultures. That one incident alone has drastically changed our country not only economically, but it has also changed our mindsets. Our perception, our awareness.
September 11, 2001. Who knew that in just seconds, our entire country could change? We've been forced to spend tons of money trying to update and improve airport security with intentions of preventing something so horrible of ever happening again. But i feel there's an even more important issue at our hands, the one I'm going to zoom in on. I'm sure a fair number of citizens won't admit it, but I'm almost positive that we can't even do something as simple as walking on a sidewalk without having our guards up, or judging innocent strangers. Nowadays, you can't walk past a person clothed in traditional attire, a turban, or a beard without having a slight passing thought that that person might be a terrorist. That that person could be a possible threat to our country. Why, because of the way they look? I'll admit, in the past i have thought like that before. I've thought that we are different from those people. But in all honesty, now i believe we are no different. They came to our country with assumptions, and intentions to disrupt and destroy it. They didn't know anything about us, but plotted a murderous scheme killing the lives of many innocent people. Watching this video, seeing how Americans are killing and terrorizing innocent people because of the way they look breaks my heart. Because that just proves that we are the same stupid, and heartless people as them.
There are both good and bad people in this world, everywhere we go in all countries. But with of a philosophy of a kill for a kill? What will that do? It will just add more fuel to the fire that needs to be extinguished. But my point is, if our country has an opinion that we are completely different then them, my opinion is that they're wrong. Actions do in fact speak a lot louder than words, and with the actions that we have committed, it does show that we are no different than them.

Introducing Me.

You probably know who I am. You've probably seen me around. You also probably have your impressions and opinions about me. But you don't know me. Knowing that nobody knows me better than myself, I can tell you that I'm one of the most complicated people you'll ever meet. I'm puzzling, but simple. I'm caring, but apathetic. I'm outgoing, but yet extremely reserved. Although I'm an independent person myself, almost all the decisions I make depend on something. I have an adventurous personality.

I love going out, exploring and experiencing things I've never experienced before. But over the years, I've learned to keep everything personal to myself. I'm not one who likes to share anything in particular. From something as small as a scoop ice cream, to something as big as any obstacles I’m facing. That’s just the way I’ve been brought up.  I was raised under the strict religion of Buddhism, so growing up I’ve been taught to never take anything for granted. I’ve also been taught to strive for perfection my whole life, and most importantly to never disappoint my parents. Living under those circumstances, I’ve become an extremely family oriented person.  

Though I try to be, I’m not an athletic person whatsoever. You can count on the fact that I can’t run or swim to save my entire family’s lives. But this year, I’m definitely going to try to fix that problem by joining the Alameda High School swim team. Learning to swim and spending more time in the water will all go to my benefit. Nobody would guess just by looking at me, but I was diagnosed with heart disease in 2007. So this will have been my 4^th year fighting it. My doctors always told me that exercise would go towards my advantage, but I never really took it seriously until now.  I never let my condition come in-between me and school, because school is my main priority. To graduate with a diploma in my hands, attending a 4 year U.C, then becoming a published writer is my ideal goal in life. I feel like writing is my strongest point. And not to be cocky, but I honestly think I’m really good at it, which plays in my favor because it’s something I enjoy and feel good about too. That’s why I’ve chosen that career path for myself.

Each year, writing is always the topic that catches my attention. Whether it’s receiving different prompts to write about, or learning something new like grammar skills and such, it all catches my attention. As the writing assignments get harder each year, I feel like it prepares me better for what’s to come in my future. So writing is definitely a subject I want to keep improving on as I move forward in school. So this year, as well as any other year to come, I want to focus on writing the most. I want to make mistakes, and learn from them, so that I can be the best I can be.



In general, I’m a very layered person.  Do I think anyone can understand me better than myself? No, I don’t. But after reading this, I hope you guys can understand me a bit better than you already did. Introducing me, Amy Trieu.