BP #3- This I Believe

                                                         This I Believe

     I stood at the edge of the pool at my uncle’s house, staring into the sparkling water. We were visiting family in Senegal. My two cousins came around the corner with a mischievous grin on their face. Tapping my wrist signaling we were going to be late I was pushed into the pool with my clothes soaking wet.

     Yes, I was mad at them but then I happened. “Splash” Zeze did a flip into the deep end of the pool followed by my ever so graceful cousin Baidy dropping in. My four other cousins, Binta, Diarra, Batch, Ali and my sister came out of the house saddened to leave. The second they saw me dripping wet they dropped their bags and rushed into the pool like fish out of water.

     Laughing and having a belly flop competition with hand signals and a vocabulary of 2-5 words, that’s when I realized that laughter is the universal language, and wherever you go you can always connect through someone through laughter.

     When I was younger I remember when I was in Turkey and my friends Lily, Grace, my sister and I got in a fight with my cousin and her friends. “huigbiicfsrviy” they kept talking what sounded like gibberish to us. Lily, Grace, Yacine and I broke out into laughter. My cousin and her friends all started laughing and the whole thing turned into a laughing fest. (Maybe because what we were fighting about was so stupid!) Even though we never understood one word each of us was saying during the fight laughter resolved the issue.

     Laughter is a language of its own. Everybody speaks it differently with their own laugh, from the cackle to the giggle, but we all understand each other. Laughter can represent joy, happiness, and good times, depends what you’re laughing about! Wherever you go you can relate to someone through laughter even if you speak different languages or have different beliefs.

2nd Quarter: BP #2

Forever by Judy Blume

    This week I read "Forever". It was a book Judy Blume and written for older kids. I figured I would give it a try but boy was in for a surprise. Forever was all about a girl, Katherine who was in love for the first time and found out what it was all about.

    Even though I would have never picked up "Forever" if I knew what it was about I enjoyed it. One part that really stood out to me was when Katherine's mom gave her a news article. " 3- If you need help, where will you seek it?" and "4- Have you thought about how the relationship will end?" Katherine thought that she would never need help and the relationship would never end and that is just how head over heels in love she was.

     I thought this book was really interesting at the least but I think it was really mature. Because I have read a lot of other Judy Blume books and nothing like this I found it unexpected of her. I read the book in 3 days flat and couldn't put it down. I think it would be really cool of there was a sequel from Michael's (Katherine's boyfriend) point of view. Definitely recommend if your parents allow you to and you are mature enough.

-Aleyna

     

Second Quarter: Blogpost #1

Revolt of the Evil Fairies By Ted Poston

     In the face of discrimination, the protagonist in "Revolt of the Evil Fairies" by Ted Poston shows determination and courage. This was a time of racism, segregation and discrimination. Not only was it “whites” against “blacks” but discrimination in the race itself. Yallers (light skinned blacks) against dark skinned blacks. This is shown through the play in the protagonist’s school. The protagonist does everything in his power to be Prince Charming in the play even though he knows, that his skin color will enable him to get the role. No doubt about it, Prince Charming was always light skinned.

     One example of determination from the protagonist was what he said "I went out for the Prince Charming role with all my heart". He also pestered his mom to help him prepare for the auditions. This shows that he was very determined to get the role and tried his hardest, even when he knew of his small chances of being Prince Charming due to his race.

     Another example of determination from the protagonist in "Revolt of the Evil Fairies" is when he purloined his sister's Palmer's Skin Success. This shows that he was even willing to change himself/appearance to be Prince Charming at this time in the story. His opinions on this soon change but it’s interesting to see and compare.

     One example of unfairness was when the protagonist says “But I could have never been Prince Charming, because I was black” He said this in the middle of the story and as the last sentence in the story. This shows that it was a reoccurring problem for him. At one point though you have to ask yourself how much longer can I do this? I think this sentence shows that he’s done and that he’s accepting the fact that because of racism and discrimination he is being held back. He finally sees that you can’t  keep fighting something that is undefeatable.

     In conclusion Ted Poston teaches us a very valuable lesson through the protagonist and the play in his school. Over the course of this story we watch the protagonist being brought down because he can’t to do something due to the color of his skin. He is determined to keep fighting but in the end he realizes that what he’s fighting is too grand for him to beat. After reading this short story I was angered. How can someone be so disrespectful to a child who can’t help the color of his skin? But what angered me the most was that they were all black. Each and every one of them, discriminating against their own race. Rat Jointer put it the best, “If you back, you black” But what does that mean?

- Aleyna Ndaw

 

Blogpost #8

Burned By Amy Reed

     I've had this book "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins and I just finished it. It was really intriguing and i couldn't put it down. I didn't want to do a blog post about it midway because I felt there was more to it.  It is about Pattyn Von-Stratten who is growing up in a very strict Mormon family. She questions her role as a woman in the Mormon community.

     This book was new to me because first off it was in verse making it a bigger book but I found it easier to read because of the format. The book was also in my opinion a fiction documentary because it was written so well and as if someone was following her around with a camera and writing everything down. This is how descriptive the book was and shows how much I could invasion the book. Lastly the topic was so unique and I don't think that any other author could have written about this in any other way and so beautifuly.

     This book made me think and made so thankful for what we have. I do however think that this book is a little extreme because it shows the bad side of growing up Mormon and the stero-types but I don't know anyone that is Mormon but then I remember that the book is fiction, Thats how relistic it was to me.

- Aleyna