UC Personal Statement

Prompt #1

I come from a young, cold, tough, yet supportive world. Tragedy, violence, and struggling has plagued the world I come from. My education has always been my number one priority, but many things have occurred which have taken my attention away, but these struggles I have gone through have pushed me to look towards a better future.

From a young age, my family has been unstable. At the age of four my grandmother died and the house we were living in had to be sold and we nearly went homeless as a result. My father lost connection with my uncles. We eventually lucked out because luckily our real estater’s mother had a house up for rent in North Berkeley. We immediately took this opportunity and made a deal to stay there for three to four months while my father looked for a more permanent place to live in. The times in Berkeley were tough for everyone. My father was forced to get two jobs in order to make ends meet. My sisters continued to go to school in San Francisco while juggling part jobs. My mother stayed at home taking care of me, but I was not doing that well myself. The house was infested with termites and as a result I developed a horrible rash. Although I do not remember much details about our time in Berkeley, I decided to explore this chapter in my history. When I learned more from what happened form my mother I began to realize that my sisters became successful not because things were given to them or a red carpet was pulled out for them to walk on. No, they got to be who they are today by working their butts off and perceiving through the many curve balls and fast balls life had thrown at them. I realized that in order for myself to become something in this world I would have to struggle and fight. Every little mistake I made, I just had to leave behind and forget so I could move on. I learned and developed a strong determination and will to want to learn and beat my sisters and become successful in this difficult world.

For years after that event my life was on a smooth road. My family was re stabilizing itself and I took my education extremely serious. I was an A student, but all that changed when the summer before eighth grade came around. It was the night that forever changed my life and molded me into the person who I am today. I was laying in bed with my parents watching TV when my sister, Sandra, came into the the room to tell my parents that my sister, Sulay, was laying in bed crying, not responding to her. My father ran into their room and attempted to calm her down, but to no avail she continued to scream and cry hysterically. My sister, the strong one who never showed her emotions was having a mental breakdown in front of my eyes and I was powerless and I could not do nothing. The police and ambulance arrived and she was taken away from me. I was not allowed to leave the house because I was too young, but I was not too young, I perfectly understood the jeopardy in which my sister. She was going to die and I never had the chance to say I love you. This event left scars implanted in my mind till this very day. I have never been the same jubilant, excited child that I was since. My eyes were open to the real world, and to the horrific fact that any time I could lose those who I loved the most. From that point on I learned to expect the worse from life and I developed a low self-esteem. From eighth to ninth grade my grades dropped considerably. I went from getting a 4.0 to getting a 2.83. I thought I was done and that I would never be able to pick myself up, but then I remembered what happened that faithful night and I made a stand that I would focus on my education and stay strong its the least I could do to make my family happy. I learned to become more independent and since that event I have grown as a student, a son, and as a man. The once protective shell which I lived in has been broken and I am now living in the real world. which at times can be difficult but its is for the best.

Prompt #2

I believe that the reason I have been able to succeed in school has been my perseverance. I have always had a tendency to not give up, sure I am lazy, but I never give up on anything. I work hard and hard until I get the job done. This characteristic truly makes me proud because thanks to perseverance I have been able to get through the many struggles I have been through. To me perseverance is the will and strength to get past a whole lot crap and get to where you want to be.
I am also a very determined person. Even though I am a procrastinator and tend to let things at the last moment. I still get them done. I have the determination to even finish the most difficult tasks. For example, last year we had multiple essays to write and every time I left it for the last moment, but I was still determined to finish them, I did in fact finish. I would usually receive a solid grade on them.
I am extremely proud of these two characteristic they have propelled me through school and life. Without perseverance I would just give up on my hopes and dreams. Without determination I would not be able to get anything done and thous I would not have the opportunity to be writing this. Determination and perseverance not only define me as a student, but as a person as well
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Final Book Review: Hunger Games

         Violence, struggling, death, and survival are all endless cycles which plague our everyday world. I bring this topic up because the book I am currently reading the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book takes settting in a distant future North America where it is basically divided into separate districts. The government forces two teenagers, one girl and boy, from each district to fight to the death in the wilderness. They must hunt for their own food, water, and whatever other few supplies are available to them. They also have access to weapons in order to protect themselves. The government forces the children to fight against each other in order to show the public that they have control over everyone even the children. It is both horrible and sad to see how the children are pitted against each other. They are destroying their future and lives by going through this. I think that Suzanne Collins’ purpose in writing this book is open our eyes to the ugly side of life, the side of war.

When I think of war, I tend to think of men having an assault rifle and infiltrating a base and some other related thing, but the sad truth about war is that many children my age or just a little bit older get in the middle. In many nations, young men three or four years older than me are given training and are sent out to basically be slaughtered. This connects to the book because even though the children are not going into war with another nation they are still being used by the government. Either way many of them are going to die.

 I would also like to say that this book touches upon the issue of governments having too much power over their people and exploiting them in certain ways. The topic of war and governments having too much power are closely related because often times when a government has too much power, another country steps in to fix this. A modern day example of this is how the US has gotten itself involved in Libya in order to kick out the president Ghadafi. Back to the book, an example where the government shows an over exertion of power is when they already have the teens in the hunger games, but they set up a perfect scenario for bloodshed, "When food is scarce, the game makers will invite players to a banquet, somewhere none to all like the cornucopia, as an inducement to gather and fight" (Collins 244).  This quote portrays the image of how the government is corrupt and will exercise its immense power in order to strike fear into the public. It also demonstrates how the government does not seem to care about what the hell happens to the players the whole point of the banquet was to gather them up and to pit them against each other in a fight. This relates to war in general because troops are placed in specific areas on purpose because certain areas draw the attention of the enemy. Some troops are just used as a decoy or bait to draw out the enemy. It is sad but it is true. Another example of the government being corrupt is when the rules of the game are changed to where now two teenagers can survive, “The news sinks in. Two tributes can win this year, if they’re both in the same district. Both can live. Before I can stop myself, I call out Peeta’s name” (Collins 244). This demonstrates the sick and twisted minds of the government for as they have changed the rules just get more viewers. By having two tributes being able to survive, the audience would be able to feel more emotion. They won’t just hope for one survivor, they will hope for two, but that is not that case because at the end the government switches the rule again to where only one can survive. The two who are left, Katniss and Peeta, who initially thought they were both going to survive, but they must kill each other until one is left standing. This is a prime example of how corrupt governments manipulate the minds of their people in order to get what they want, when they want it. Overall the book expresses this theme multiple times throughout the story.

To the naked eye The Hunger Games may seem like your typical novel about survival and violence, but upon further analysis the book reveals a deeper meaning of war and corrupt governments. Much like war, the children are put through hell and the cycle of violence, death, and survival continues to spread and infect the world like an epidemic. 

Peer Edit Comments

Jasiu:

You have a solid introduction. There is an overall flow to the essay, but I feel like it can be improved. Your CM is straight to the point and your CDs connect to the topic. Overall, you have a solid piece of writing here and with some adjustments it should be all good.:

Tiffany:

Ur voice and style should be altered to a more formal one as this is an essay we are writing. there are just a few things are out of place. I agree with Jasiu, you say this book is similar to other books you've read i'd like to see some examples, make some connections. I also suggest a better, more interesting hook. With some work on voice, and connections it should be fine.

Hunger Games Rough Draft

          Violence, struggling, death, and survival are all endless cycles which plague our everyday world. I bring this topic up because the book I am currently reading the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book takes place in a distant future North America where it is basically divided into separate districts. The government forces two teenagers, one girl and boy, to fight to the death in the wilderness. They must hunt for their own food, water, and whatever other few supplies are available to them. They also have access to weapons in order to protect themselves. The government forces the children to fight against each other in order to show the public that they have control over everyone even the children. It is both horrible and sad to see how the children are pitted against each other. I mean they are destroying their future and lives by going through this.

Anyways to go back to my first sentence about violence and survival, I believe that the purpose of Suzanna Collins writing this book was to open our eyes to the ugly side of life, the side of war. When I think of war, I tend to think of men having an assault rifle and infiltrating a base and some other related thing, but the sad truth about war is that many children my age or just a little bit older get in the middle. In many nations, young men three or four years older than me are given training and are sent out to basically be slaughtered. This connects to the book because even though the children are not going into war with another nation they are still being used by the government. Either way many of them are going to die.

 I would also like to say that this book touches upon the issue of governments having too much power over their people and exploiting them in certain ways. The topic of war and governments having too much power are closely related because often times when a government has too much power, another country steps in to fix this. A modern day example of this is how the US has gotten itself involved in Libya in order to kick out the president Ghadafi. Back to the book, an example where the government shows an over exertion of power is when they already have the teens in the hunger games, but they set up a perfect scenario for bloodshed, "When food is scarce, the game makers will invite players to a banquet, somewhere none to all like the cornucopia, as an inducement to gather and fight" (244).  This quote portrays the image of how the government is corrupt and will exercise its immense power in order to strike fear into the public. It also demonstrates how the government does not seem to care about what the hell happens to the players the whole point of the banquet was to gather them up and to pit them against each other in a fight. This relates to war in general because troops are placed in specific areas on purpose because certain areas draw the attention of the enemy. Some troops are just used as a decoy or bait to draw out the enemy. It is sad but it is true.

To the naked eye The Hunger Games may seem like your typical novel about survival and violence, but upon further analysis the book reveals a deeper meaning of war and corrupt governments. Much like war, the children are put through hell and the cycle of violence, death, and survival continues to spread and infect the world like an epidemic. 

Hunger Games Part 2

My initial thoughts on why I believe the author wrote this book remain the same, but I would also like to add on to the purpose and message behind the writing of The Hunger Games. I still believe that Suzanne Collins wrote this book to open our eyes to the true side of war, the way how young adults and teens are exploited and used during war. I would also like to say that this book touches upon the issue of governments having too much power over their people and exploiting them in certain ways. The topic of war and governments having too much power are closely related because often times when a government has too much power, another country steps in to fix this. A modern day example of this is how the US has gotten itself involved in Libya in order to kick out the president Ghadafi.

Back to the book, an example where the government shows an over exertion of power is when they already have the teens in the hunger games, but they set up a perfect scenario for bloodshed, "When food is scarce, the game makers will invite players to a banquet, somewhere none to all like the cornucopia, as an inducement to gather and fight" (244).  This  quote portrays the image of how the government is corrupt and will exercise its immense power in order to strike fear into the public. It also demonstrates how the government does not seem to care about what the hell happens to the players the whole point of the banquet was to gather them up and to pit them against each other in a fight. This relates to war in general because troops are placed in specific areas on purpose because certain areas draw the attention of the enemy. Some troops are just used as decoy or bait to draw out the enemy. Its sad but its true.

To the naked eye The Hunger Games may seem like your typical novel about survival and violence, but upon further analisation the book reveals a deeper meaning of war and corrupt governments.

Hungers Games #1

Violence, struggling, death, and survivall are all endless cycles which plague our everyday world. I bring this topic up because the book I am currently reading the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book takes place in a distant future North America where it is basically divided into separate districts. The government forces two teenagers, one girl and boy, to fight to the death in the wilderness. They must hunt for their own food, water, whatever other few supplies are available to them. They also have access to weapons in order to protect themselves. The government forces the children to fight against each other in order to show the public that they have control over everyone even the children. It is both horrible and sad to see how the children are pitted against each other. I mean they are destroying their future and lives by going through this.

Anyways to go back to my first sentence about violence and survival, I believe that the purpose of Suzanna Collins writing this book was to open our eyes the ugly side war, the side of war. When I think of war, I tend to think of men having an assault rifle and infiltrating a base and some other kind, but the truth about war is that children my age or just a little bit older get in the middle. In many nations, young men three or four years older are given training and are sent out to basically be slaughtered. This connects to the book because even though the children are not going into war with another nation they are still being used by the government. Either way many of them are going to die.

The Hunger Games tells the story a distant future North America where children are made to fight to death. Much like war, children are put through hell and the cycle of violence, death, and survival continues to spread and infect the world like an epidemic.

Family History Connections

A connection I see between the family stories is that many of my fellow classmates relatives, much like mine moved to California from another country or state to be closer to family, for hope, for opportunity etc. Two stories which so this exact theme and connect to my family's story are John Hamilton's and Andy Lau's stories.

In John Hamilton's story, his ancestors moved from Texas to California in order to assist a friend who was being accused of rape, "if Jim was to be found in my grandmothers grandparents house all three of them would be lynched because they where apart of hiding this man. For them to avoild that from happening they moved to the state of California." Even though John's ancestors did not come to California to be closer to family like my parents and I did, the decision to move to California shaped the rest lives and basically got them to where they are at right now.

In Andy's story his mother decided to come to the US because she wanted to pursue and get her education, "She wanted to continue to get an education but she did not know any other way other than attending college which she was not allowed to because she was not the smartest at her school. After days of thinking, she finally decided to immigrate to America. Her friends told her that in America anyone can go to school. With the help of some family members, she was put on the immigration list and in a couple of years; she was allowed to move to the United States." This shows the determanation that his mother had to come to the US to get an education. This connects to the theme of coming to the Us or California for a better life.

John's, Andy's, and my story coonect to the idea of coming to America or California for better future, a new life, or simply the pursuit of a dream/goal.

Cycles

Cycles take place all around us. They can take place at a microscopic level or at a larger scale. In The Joy  better lifeLuck Club by Amy Tan there are examples of numerous cycles that take place during the story. One cycle that I noticed was the fact that the mothers push their daughters. The mothers are constantly there to support and set the path for their children to succeed.

An example of how the push their daughters is in the story "The Red Candle" when Lindo Jong, one of the mothers, was forced by her own mother to marry man whom she did not love. When she was twelve her parents left the city and left her with her future husband's family. Before they left, Lindo's mother told her, "Obey your family. Do not disgrace us. Act happy when you arrive. Really you're very lucky" (Tan 54). This quote expresses the idea of how the mothers push their children in order to give them a better life. It also shows how the mother wants to keep the Chinese culture alive because it is a custom for Chinese women to marry Chinese men.

Later on in the book, in the story "Rules of the Game" Lindo Jong's daughter, Waverly Jong, learns the game of chess. Lindo sees how good Waverly is at chess and she decides to push her to become better because she claims that she is prodigy. Waverly soon became tired of this, chess was the only thing her mother stressed, "I went to school then directly home to learn new chess secrets, cleverly concealed advantages, more escape routes" (Tan 98). Lindo pushes and stresses a lot on chess because her daughter has a talent for it and she believes that she might have a future in it. This connects to the idea that the mothers push their daughters to become successful.

In conclusion, the cycle of mothers pushing their daughters is shown in The Joy Luck Club.

Family history

It was the year 1998, I was about three years old, and my family had already spent eight relatively good years in the United States. My family had immigrated to the United States from Colombia in 1990. They came here because my father’s mother and his brothers had immigrated to the Us earlier and my father wanted to be closer them. My grandmother paid for and had US documents prepared to send my mother, father, and three sisters (Rosa, Sandra, and Sulay) to San Francisco. Upon arrival my family settled in the building that my grandma had rented out for them in the Mission District. About 8 years passed without any big issue, but this time of peace and happiness came to an end when my grandmother died in 1998.

My grandmother died and had left behind the building where my family lived and there was dispute because the building was also under the name of my Uncle Victor and he wanted to sell it it in order to split the money among the family. At the same time, the family began to split up. My Uncle Rafael had moved to Miami and connections with them were crumbling. My Uncle eventually sold the building and me and my family only had three days to pack up and move out. My parents did not know how to catch BART or public transportation. We had no where to go, but luckily for us the real estate person, Katie, who was a part of the selling of the building was a family member of my Uncle Victor’s wife, Nancy. Katie had spoken to her mother about the house she up for rent in Berkeley and agreed to let us live there for a duration of three to six months. This was such a blessing for us because if were not for this we would have ended homeless. We did not have much money and my parents did not have enough credit to qualify for a house in San Francisco. It was as if a miracle occurred and we were blessed with a second chance.

The house in Berkeley was very nice. It was a two story home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and attic, and it was close to BART. It may have been nice but it was far from ideal. All three of my sisters still attended school in San Francisco so they had to catch both BART and MUNI to get to school. The cost of transportation, food, and rent became extremely high and my father was forced to find a second job. He entered his job at three in the afternoon where he worked as front runner and server at a restaurant in San Francisco. When he finished at the restaurant he proceeded to the Trans American Building where he worked as a janitor from eleven in the night to six in the morning. He would get back home early, gruesomely tired and yet he still took two hours daily to go with my mom to search for houses. My sisters were also forced to get jobs in order to help out with the heavy payments. While this was occurring I was basically being eating up by termites. The house had a section that was infested with termites and I would constantly play in that area so I got bitten by the termites and I developed a bad rash. Of course since money was an issue there was not much to eat.We ended up living there for an entire year until when we had enough money to buy the house where we currently stay at here in Oakland.

Although we had finally found a house to settle in, there were some issues. First of all the house did not have a kitchen because it had been pulled out to be remodeled. We were so happy to finally to have been settled in but we needed food, so my mother invested in a steamed rice cooker so she could rice and boil water. My father often brought home food from the restaurant where he worked. For about a week or so we had to eat the food from my father's work or from the restaurants that were around the area. The kitchen was finally remodeled and we were able to eat normally. My sisters continued to take BART and MUNI to get to school in San Francisco. My father continued at different restaurants in San Francisco and mother stayed home. I proceeded to go to Hawthorne Elementary school and I went to Urban Promise Academy, and finally ASTI. Two of my sisters went San Francisco State University. One graduated with a Bachelor's Degree and the other went on to get a Master's Degree. The youngest of my sisters went to City College of San Francisco.

This story is very significant to my family history because this was a key event in my family’s history in the US. This story shows me and my family going through some very tough times, the death of a family member. We lost our home and were nearly homeless, my dad and sisters had to get multiple jobs. It was all pretty bad, but we managed to persevere and get our selves out of this situation. Instead of splitting apart, going into crisis, and giving up we came together as a family and became stronger. I think that this story should be preserved because it shows how that even in the worst of situations family is always going to be there and together we are very strong.

Personally I take this story as sign that there is no need to ever give up, there is always someone who is out there for you. Together we can accomplish many things, but separated and as individuals we are set up for failure.

This story also reveals the strength, courage, and toughness that my family had inside of them. I mean my dad got two jobs and my sisters each got a job while they continued to go to school in San Francisco. My mother may not have had a job, but she worked hard to keep the house in shape and made sure that things were not chaotic at home. I believe that this event made us the family that we are now. My sisters eyes were open to how bad life can be and they took this as motivation and reason to go to college and receive their degrees. My worked hard and he felt good because he felt that he gave for a happy and successful family to grow. Now that I am grown up and I have seen my sisters go through high school and college I feel motivated. In itself this story has actually in a way empowered me to succeed and go to college because I do not want to ever go through like this ever again, even if  I could not really remember about it. I now look towards a bright future, a better future for me and my family.

I always knew that we had lived in Berkeley before we came to Oakland, but I never knew why we moved and now I know. I now understand why there has been lingering issues within the family. I mean it all ties up now, the issues that we still face are not anything new they are just stemmed off from this situation. If it were not for Katie finding us a home and the motivation of my family we would probably be out on the streets or some crappy house or apartment.. I would probably not be at ASTI and i would not have the same ambitious and kind of nerdy mentality that I have now. I do not know if my sisters would have gone to college. My parents could have divorced or the could have gone insane. Who Knows? Well one thing is for sure this story, well event, changed the lives of my family members. We were given a second chance and we took complete advantage of it. We set ourselves up for success and I hope I follow in the footsteps of my sisters and succeed in life.

I am sure that I am going to tell my children this story because I believe it is important to pass on family history and stories are an excellent way of passing down history from generation to generation with a little bit of tweaking every now and then, the story will stay interesting. I want my kids to know where my motivation and determination came from and want to give them everything that my parents worked hard to give me. This story would be a reality check and hopefully would motivate and empower them just like it did to me.

Amy Tan and Amy Chuan

Prior to reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan we had read and analyzed a piece by Amy Chuan titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior". In this piece Amy Chuan speaks of the relationship she has with her daughters. In her piece she states that "Chinese Mothers" are much stricter and careful than mothers of any other ethnicity or race. She discusses how she does not allow her daughters to engage in fun activities such as being in a school play, attending a sleepover, or watch TV and play video/computer games. She also speaks on how it takes constant practice and battling to become good at something,

"To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up." (Chuan).

This shows how Amy Chuan and many other "Chinese Mothers" push their children to the limits in an attempt to become good at something. All fun is eliminated and much time and focus is put onto practicing. Chuan states that without the parent constantly being behind the child, then the child would not want practice. Therefore the mother must be there to battle against the daughters resistance. This same type of mother-daughter relationship is also found in The Joy Luck Club.

In the section, The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, there is a story named "The Rules of the Game". This story discusses the relationship between Lindo Jong and her daughter, Waverly. Waverly becomes fascinated with the game of chess and her mother notices this and decides to commit her time to push her to become well at it, I no longer played in the alley of Waverly Place.

"I never visited the playground where the pigeons and old men gathered. I went to school, then directly home to learn new chess secrets, celevrly concealed advantages, more escape routes" (Tan 98).

The relationship that Lindo has with her daughter is very similar to what Chuan has with her daughter. Both denied their daughters fun. They both worked hard to push their daughters to become successful at something. They both contain this similar "Chinese Mother" mentality. In short, both Amy Chuan and Lindo Jong reflect the hard work of a "Chinese Mother" to push their daughters to succeed.

The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates

At the beginning of the second section of the book "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates" the daughter attempts to ride her bike, but her mother does not allow her to ride her bike because she claims that she cannot see her and she will fall off. The daughter asks the mother how does she know that and the mother responds by saying, "Its is in a book, The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, all the bad things that can happen to you outside the protection of this house" (Tan 87). The daughter ignores the mother and decides to ride her bike anyway and she ended up falling off before reaching the corner. The purpose of this is to show how mothers are always there for you and usually tend to know the right things to say. This also demonstrates how consequences do come from ignoring or disobeying the word of your mother.

In the story "Rules of the Game" the daughter learns the game of chess and becomes extremely fascinated with it. She eventually became extremely good at chess and later on she won a chess championship. Although she enjoyed the game, she could stand her mother staring and breathing on her every time she would play or plan out her chess games. She became extremely irritated,

"But I found it difficult to concentrate at home. My mother had a habit of standing over me while I plotted out my games. I think she thought of herself as my protective ally. Her lips would be sealed tight, and after each move I made, a soft 'Hmmmmph' would escape from her nose" (Tan 98).

This quote demonstrates how the mother has become very overprotective and watchful of her daughter. Although she may be pushing and stressing out her daughter out a lot, she is doing it because she cares and loves her too much. This is her way of telling her daughter, look I am always going to be there whether you like it or not. The daughter should appreciate and embrace the fact that her mother cares so much about her.

Kweilin Story

The first story of the first part of the Joy Luck Club talks about Suyuan Woo telling her daughter theses stories. Every time Suayan tells her daughter the same story, but every time it has a different ending. The daughter states that each time the ending of the story appears to get darker and darker.

At first the story is very positive. Shiyuan Woo brags about how good she is at majjong. Every time she would win yuan which is the paper currency of China, but paper was not worth a lot back in the day. So she just used the money to buy simple items such as rice, chickens, and eggs.

As the stories began to change, more and more weird twists and details. One day Shiyuan Woo decides to tell her daughter the truth that she had been holding on to for so long. Shiyuan Woo had to leave the city where she was living at because a friend had warned about a Japanese invasion on the city. She gathered all of her belongings including her two babies and began her long walk away from the city. During the walk one of her friends persuaded a man to steal a wheelbarrow so she could put her stuff on it, but it did not really help that much. Eventually, Shiyun Woo could no longer take it, she was tired and she had no choice but to leave her belongings behind, including her two babies.

I believe that the reason why Shiyuan keeps changing up the story is because she feels ashamed and regrets what she did. She attempts to hide this by changing her story, but she could no longer hide nor deny it. She just had to let it out to her daughter in hope that she would learn a lesson. That lesson would be to never give up and quit. I think she wonders about how her two babies ended up and how they are doing now. She thinks of the possibility of a reunion, but it will not ever happen.

Response To Chinese Mothers

People tend to agree with the statement that Chinese Mothers tend to push their children to the limits and beyond when it comes to academics and education, but this article about how Chinese Mothers are superior to other mothers really just strikes me. This paragraph especially strikes me.

Despite our squeamishness about cultural stereotypes, there are tons of studies out there showing marked and quantifiable differences between Chinese and Westerners when it comes to parenting. In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that "stressing academic success is not good for children" or that "parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun." By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be "the best" students, that "academic achievement reflects successful parenting," and that if children did not excel at school then there was "a problem" and parents "were not doing their job." Other studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately 10 times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams.

I do not find it surprising that seventy percent of western mothers do not stress education a lot to their children because they believe it hurts their child. I can just see that number to be mostly true, but I was shocked when I saw that zero percent of the Chinese mothers interviewed stressed education a lot and believed that it did not harm their children in any way what so ever. Now that I think about it I do not believe that these numbers are accurate because so few people were interviewed. I would have to like to have seen a larger group of people being interviewed.

This article makes it seem as if Western Mothers do not give a damn about education and it is kind of sad because that is not the case. For example, my mother is not Asian, she is Latina, Colombian to be exact, and she stresses education just about as any other Chinese Mother that I know. I also know many kids who have mothers who are not Chinese and yet they still stress education like crazy.

OK I do agree that westerners will tend to play more in sports, but still, that does not always take away from their education at all. I also know Chinese and Asian kids who play and enjoy sports. Sure they may not be on a team, but they still participate  in sports. I do not believe that if a student fails at academics then it necessarily the parents. A lot of times it is the child who does not want to learn and therefore it is their fault, not the parents.

Animal Farm and uprisings around the world

George Orwell's Animal Farm tells the story a farm of animals overthrowing the humans and setting a government for themselves. This is very similar to what is going on around in the Middle East, where multiple countries are beginning to start uprisings against their governments.

In Animal Farm the animals were tired of the humans treating them lesser beings and acting like they were superior to them. One day Old Major, one of the pigs, came up with an idea for the animals to rebel and overthrow the humans. Soon after Old Major died, the animals carried out his ideas and overthrew the humans. They set up their own government with a set of certain rules, much like the constitution of the United States. This is like what is going around the world especially in Egypt. An article by BBC News explains what is going on with some of the protests in Egypt. The people there are tired of Mubarak, the president of Egypt. The people feel that they have been oppressed and are no longer going to take it. They've gathered up in protests. The last straw was when the government disconnected the country's Internet. Eventually President Mubarak stepped down. The people have not been able to set up democracy, but I see it coming some time in the near future.

Protests have also occurred in the small African nation of Tunisia. An article for BBC News reports on some of the violence that has gone in the streets. Although they people have been able to force their leader, the people are still at unrest with their government. While watching KTVU News yesterday there was a report stating that a month after the protests began the people are not happy with their new government. Many workers have gone on strike and trash has been piling up on the streets. Volunteers have had to go out clean up this trash. This is similar to when the pigs in Animal Farm began to change the rules to favor them. Soon after overthrowing the humans, the pigs took charge and began to tweak things to benefit them. The rest of the animals became angry at this.

In conclusion, the book Animal Farm may tell the story of animals overthrowing their owners, the humans, but this story is much like many of the uprisings that have occurred around the world.

Rebuttal to Peter Chen

My fellow student Peter Chen is debating on the topic of what is the best method to control the human population. Okay so my initial reaction to his opening statement is that wow this is pretty short and I only see one true piece of evidence.

Like I stated it is a good start, but he needs some work. First of all I felt that it was relatively short compared to a lot of the other opening statements I ob severed. I felt that he could have put a lot more effort and information into this opening statement. Second of all, I really liked only piece of facts he had, but he never really elaborated on it, he just kind of put out there. To go on about that only fact I respect that you are Chinese, but you should not just talk China because they are many other countries that are overpopulated. I think you should keep that background information, but do not allow that to overwhelm your opening statement. I also realized that you had no links, so there was no evidence to back up any of your claims. My suggestion is to figure out what you think is the best way to control human population because you do not even state what your view on this question is. There is no thesis, so try to come up with clear thesis that clearly explains what you think is the best way to control human population. You should also try to find data, evidence, and facts that support your opinion on this topic. Finally, they were a considerable amount of grammatical errors, so yeah try to fix that up.

Overall it is a good start. My main advice is to organize your ideas and find some data that supports your ideas. Got some to do work man. Good Luck.

Animal Farm Mini Essay Prompt 2

Thorughout time, language has played a key role in helping civilizations across the world to prosper and develop. Language is the main form in which most people communicate through. Without language there is no way for a civilization to communicate and without communication a civilization cannot develop and will eventually collapse. Even if there is language in a society, the society can still collapse if the language is not strong or full of bad habits. Language can make or break a civilization.

In the first two paragraphs from Orwell's famous 1946 essay, "Politics and the English language" He discuses how the English language is crumbling apart. He states, "Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it" (Par 1). To summarize this quote up, George Orwell is basically saying that the English language is in bad shape and there is nothing that people can really do to change it. This creates the assumption that the English language is something that we cannot control, if it falls apart then we, as humans, have to watch the very thing that brought us up form primitiveness collapse. This is very interesting because he contradicts himself in the following paragraph, "Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly" (Par 2). George Orwell is basically stating the opposite of what he had said in the first paragraph. He says that bad habits in the English language can be eliminated by conscious action. These contradicting quotes make me wonder what of this argument is George Orwell really on. Does he believe that we can do something about the English language or not.

George Orwell not only speaks about how the English language is full of bad habits, but he also touches on how the English language relates to the government and economy. For example, in the second paragraph he states, "Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political  and economic causes... but an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely" (Par 2). Basically a language does not turn for the worse all of a sudden, there is something which causes. A decline in the economy can cause a language to decline, but it can also happen in reverse. A declining or crumbling language can lead to economic recession. It can also lead to issues occurring in stable governments. In summary a language that is in downfall can have a domino effect on various aspects of a country, society, or civilization.

I agree with Orwell when he states that bad habits in the English language can be fixed by conscious action. It is not impossible to fix a language it is just difficult. I also agree with the relationship between language and governments. I believe that a declining language can cause a government, country, society, or civilization to collapse. Language is the key to communication which is the key to civilizations all over the world prosper and develop. Basically no language equals a non working society and civilization.

Social Networking: Good or Bad?

Are social networking sites harmful or beneficial to society. My initial reaction to this question was, no Facebook and other related sites are not harmful, just put your stuff on private and its gonna be all good, but upon research my opinion has now changed. I now understand why so many people state that social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are harmful to society.

First of all social networking sites such as Facebook do not always provide the best security or privacy settings. For example, even if you are not friends with a person they can still send you a message or poke. My friend just recently put up a status stating "Getting poked people who are not even on my friends list... F***ing creepers bro". This shows how people you may not even know can communicate to you. What is so bad about this that random people can send harmful, provocative, or inappropriate messages. The only way to stop this is by blocking the person. Another issue with Facebook's security and privacy settings is that when using certain applications or games you have to allow access to some of information. This article for NBC Bay Area News states that Facebook will now allow access to user's address and phone number when using certain applications and games. This can be easily prevented by not posting that information in the first place, but with so many people using the site, I highly doubt that everyone will not not have this information on their profile.

The lack of privacy and security settings people are exposed to being subject to being stalked, harassed and cyber-bullied. For example, there is a new thing on Facebook named see friendship. It allows users to see everything you and another person have in common, every wall post, mutual friend liked pages in common, etc. That is very stalker and creeper status. For some time reports on The Daily Mail have reported in an increase in crimes related to Facebook have raised. This shows how Facebook does only expose you abuse and harassment, but it also exposes to crimes.

Animal Farm

Political power, corruption, selfish have all been topics for debate. If exposed to political does person become corrupt and crazy with power?

My answer to this question is yes I believe that the majority of the time when a person is exposed to political power they will become corrupt and greedy and mad with power. I believe this because throughout time, history has showed us that people who have been exposed to power have become corrupt. For example, great historical figures like Cesar, Hitler, Mao, Joseph Stalin, etc. have had political power and they had all abused of it. They stripped land form their people. They killed their own people. They conquered and oppressed their enemies. Its the feeling of having power and being in charge that brings out the evil and corruption that lies within every person. I believe that almost everyone I know would abuse the power if they had the exposure to it.

Although there maybe a good amount of people who have abused of their power, there have also been people who have not taken advantage of it and abused it. For example George Washington, countless presidents and leaders have not taken advantage of their power. They did not abuse their power instead they used for the benefits of others instead of themselves. It most likely took a lot to keep themselves for becoming corrupt and mad with power. Even there are exceptions to corruption and abuse, I still believe most people if the chance will take advantage of power they have. I know I would and I am not shy to say it.

I think that George Orwell would agree with me because in his book "Animal Farm", a pig is the one to come up with the idea to throw over the humans. When the animals successfully threw over the humans the pig took over power because a pig had come up with the idea to over throw the humans. This shows how the pigs had the access to power and they used to control the other animals.

The perfect Country

OK so in the past few days we have talked about the perfect or ideal government or country. To me the perfect/ ideal government/country consists of many things.

First of all, everybody should have equal rights. For example, gays and lesbians should be allowed to be married and they should also be allowed to be in the military without having to face harassment. Men and women should be treated equally for their actions. The actions of a man should not weigh more than the actions of a women. People of all race, gender, and sexual orientation should not have to face any discrimination under any circumstances.

Another characteristic of the perfect country/ government is that all law enforcement and military must have a college degree. I find to be very important because I know many cops that are, I am going to say it, stupid as f***. I mean half of the time I do not think they know or realize what they are doing. I believe that having a college education will help law enforcement in making better decisions and keep the public safe. I also believe that weapons such as firearms, explosives, etc. should only be allowed to be accessed by the government. Firearms would no longer be sold to the general public. This lack of weapon of exposure should keep the general public safe.

Undocumented students should also be allowed the right to an education because even they do not have papers they are here in this country for the right reasons. They are fighting an looking for a better future not only for themselves. but for their families as well. Some of these undocumented students could be the first in their families to go to college.

Finally I believe that health care should be provided to every single citizen at no cost. Health care should not be luxury for the ones who have money, rather it should, no it is a necessity for every person in the country. Every day we are exposed to the possibility of injury and we should know that we have the medical expenses covered if an injury were to occur.

Response To Andy Tsang

Reading through the different blog posts I found an interesting quote that appealed to me by Andy Tsang.

Probably not as passionately, but math is also one of my favorite subjects. It may have been the fact that the answers are so direct, or that my past teachers could teach it very well, but I have always had a strong sense of mathematics, ever since sixth grade. At that time, I was doing extremely poorly in math, barely holding up a D. But then, after one parent teacher conference, I realized that had to change. I spent all my free time trying to make up my work and studying for test, and before I knew it, I ended the year with a solid B.

This quote stood out to me because I also find math to be my most disliked subject, but my easiest well up until about last year when my grades started to just drop. See I usually got a high B to low A in math, but last year I just settled for the C. I think my grade droppped because the teacher was very loose and just let the class move on there own and I guess that looseness is what got me lazy which is what caused my grades to drop. I got lazy and dropped my guard and I let my assignments pile up and I did not take my tests and quizzes serious. I wish I could go back and fix that math year up and do much better

Much like Andy I also had an interesting 6th grade math experience. Unlike Andy, I was at the top of my math class in 6th grade I would have like A and I would sleep thorugh class and not take notes because I found everything very easy, but my teacher did not much appreciate this so she put me and ten other students in upper level math to give us a challenge. That was an interesting experience because for once I felt challenged, but at the end of the day that is what pushed to be the student I am now.

Elite Colleges overated or underated?

OK I have many mixed feelings about elite colleges and whether or not they make a person's life better and successful. Reading the seven responses about whether or not Elite Colleges make a person's life better made me kind of rethink my initial thoughts.

The one article which I found least convincing and persuasive is the response called "Access to Money and Power". I found this article to unpersuasive because the main points were not very strong. First of all the author spoke a lot about how students with high SAT Scores that go to elite colleges graduate at a higher rate then the very same qualified students who went to a non elite college. I just found these SAT facts and numbers to be confusing, wordy, and cluttering. The author also made it seem as if SAT scores were the only thing that colleges look at when in reality colleges look at your GPA, extra curricular activities, personal statement, etc. Another reason that I find it unconvincing is that towards the end the author states that elite colleges are only meant for the elite people, but this is just an opinion there is no real evidence to back it up. The author also does not explain what an elite person is. Is an elite person rich or are they highly educated.

On the other hand, the article which I found to be very persuasive the "What You Do vs. Where You Go" response. I found this article to be persuasive because I really liked the beginning in which it shows multiple successful, rich, and powerful people that either dropped out of college or went to a non elite college. This showed how an elite college is not necessary in order to achieve a happy and successful life. This article also gave more of student point of view as supposed from listening to an expert.

At the end of the day I think that elite colleges are beneficial but it really depends on what career you are pursuing.