1. I value the power of money. Not because I believe money make you happy, but I value the oppurtunities its allows. Money is the single most important item in all our live. We fight and kill for it. Money is what makes a nation great or a no-name country. All the great powers have a lot of it and those that have the least are always fighting over the scrapes. I value the power of money in all its glory.

2. The Akon and the 15 year old girl. I remember everyone talking about weather she was 15 or not. I remember my friends and I agueing about it for weeks. Some said he should be arrested others said she sneaked into the club so it wasn't Akon's fault. It made think about who really was guilty, and I came to the conclusion it was the girl and the clubs fault.

3. I hope the finish with high school. I am so ready for it to be over. I am looking forward to my first semester of college. High school has lasted for so long with all its mandatory classes, I am looking forward to some choice.

Toward the Future/From the Past

1. I dislike the fact the everything had to be stated, even the thoughts of the speaker. That the biggest differance between a book and a play. You can't say (he thought this or that). I was surptise by the fact that I had to so much editation. I disliked the way you had to write all the screen directions. I might be intrest in writing a moive script, I have a couple of ides.

2. I would write about my experiances as I was growing up. Especially my time in a refugee camp. I don't know if I want to tell people too much about that. I kind of a sore subject. I also could write about my life in Arlington, V.A. for 7 years. It was very differant from Edina which was why I struggle adjusting here.

3. If I could give advice to a 10 year old it would be to play a sport. Not for just fun, but on a regular team. I think sports makes people more competative and more likely to succeced. You can't just tell kids to do what good for them, because they just won't do it. So you have to do it indictly. Playing a sport will keep them in shape, help build social skills, and do well in school.

Great Works

1. Yes, it need to express a central theme in order to unify the story. The theme of a piece of literature is what makes the story interesting. Without it pointing out or commenting on something the story has no point, and is therefore a waste of the readers time. An example of a story that had no point and irritated me very much was Catcher in the Rye. It had no point and just kept going on and on about this rich kid who just kept getting drunk. On ther other had I really enjoyed The Great Gatsby. The story was a clear commentary on the American situation and about the falsehood of the rags to riches belief that permiates this country.

2. First of all, there are no such things as a great work of literature. These ideas are forced upon people by book reviewers and critics as well as our education system. Although I enjoyed The Great Gatsby, I don't consider it to be greater than all the other lesser known books. I think this leads us to all have the same cookie cutter ideas and does not allow us to explore and expand our litarary knowledge.

3. I want to have a great impact on this world, and I don't like being a writer will help me achieve my dreams. I want to help firstly, me own people, then the wider world in primary the fields of health and education. I feel passionatly about those two key issues because of me personal experiances early on. I think in order to do this I would need to be extremly rich and unless I write books a popular as J. K. Rowling's I won't make enough to accomplish my dreams.

Assignment #7

1. I enjoyed most of the poetry section, except Hiakus. The poetry left explore certian topics without being too fully engulfed by it. I also like our short stories especially the one with the picture. It was cool to look at a picture and come up with the whole story behind it. It really made me think in a different way than I'm used to.
2. My best piece of writing for this quater was my poem about the "skinny black boy" in my Memories Poem. This poem was very visual and the reader could see it unfold before their very eyes. I have really written any thing like it before. It was inspired by my own experiance and those of my friends.
3. I've found out that I do like some structure, like directions on what to do or have included in they store, but not too much. Without some direction I do feel a little lost and don't where to start. On the other hand if the instruction are to long or to in depth I think it limits what I can write about. I think the picture story is a perfect exmaple of this. We had to include the picture in our story but it could still be about anything you wanted. I like that.
4. I really not like plays or screenplays. I wish we could have another story similar the picture story but if it has to be something new I think I would like memoirs of famous people.

Assignment #6: Creating Fear

1. I don't really like being scarred, because I feel like I am not in control of my emotions when that happens. I also don't like what I might do in a moment of fear, I might lash out or make a fool of my self for fleeing. I am okay with scarry movies, but not real life.
2. I fear of being tortured. I think that is the absolute worst thing that can be done to a person, wishing you were dead. Guts spilling out do scare me a lot. They scare me because of what I have seen, a large portion of my childhood was like a little kid watching a R rate movie.
3. Madness is the point at which a person is have abnormal thoughts on a regular basis. This means that they are think of hurting those close to them, and they can't help it. I think the narrator in The Black Cat can definetly be considered mad, because of the way he slow begins to hate Pluto and wishes to harm it.
4. War is a big reason for madness. I know this many Somalis have mental problems in coping with the Civil War. War make someone witness the senseless slaughter of human life. Another big reason for madness is someone's childhood. If the person was not cared for and was depressed as kid they are more likely to grow anti-socail and thus more like to become mad.

Assignment #3

Homemade Soccer Balls

Skinny black boys running
Hoping, Wishing, Dreaming
Of one day escaping
This prison called a refugee camp.

Kicking a soccer ball
Made from old plastic bags and clothing.
They are all dreaming of one day glorifying
The desert nation and people of Somalia.

They are forever trying to escape.
Escape from the Duksi (religious school)
Escape from the school
Escape from Kakumo (refugee camp)
Escape from Somalia
Escape from Famine, Poverty, and War.

They are me
And I am them.
I live because so many have died.
I am the embodiment of hope.






Trenches

My feet are dry, my feet are cracked
My feet are wet, my feet stink
Rats and trench feet
They go together
Like ware and death.

I used to have normal feet
Before the dammed war started.
I sold my shoes
For extra rations
So now I march without shoes.
March, March, and March.

My mom would be shocked
If she saw my feet.
But I am a soldier
So I must continue marching.
So onwards I march, march, march.

Moby Dick and 2PAC

Things Remembered

Part1: Moby Dick
2. When I am feeling down I usually go for a long walk. This allows me to reflect on the situation without being around the person who got me upset in the first place. I try to remind myself that I am lucky and have a great life compared with less furtunate people. I always try to make myself feel better because there is no point to pitying yourself.

Part2: "Dear Mama" TUPAC
1. I brought in the lyrics from a song called "Dear Mama" by 2PAC. I was 11 when my older brother told about it and made me listen to it. I listened to it and instantly fell in love with it.
2. I had left my mom back in Africa and lived with my dad for three years. Everyday I missed her. This song helped me feel close to her and also made me appriciate all the things she used to for me.
3. "Though back at the time, I never thought I'd see her face -- Ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place -- Suspended from school; and scared to go home, I was a fool -- with the big boys, breakin all the rules" I used to get into a lot of fights back in elementary school. This made feel like I wasn't alone going through such problems.
4. A. Tell about a time when someone important to you was gone for a long amount of time.
4. B. You feel an emotion reading these lyrics, why or why not?