I am Thankful (For a Classmate)

In my English class, there’s a handful of people that I already knew from last year, and some I made quickly from the very beginning. I sit in the front, right corner of the room, with three other young writers; Antonio, Justin, and Sam. Were lucky to be grouped together because getting in a group of four is a breeze, and we already socialize so we almost agree all the time. Antonio and I knew each other since Freshman Year, when we had three classes together, and we met on the bus. How else would we start talking to each other? By talking smack about one of our teachers of course! He then hung out in lunch, and then we never really stopped since then. He remind each other of our homework, help each other out in our homework (especially Italian!) and just argue of who has more fans; the NBA or The Walking Dead (NBA wins, though). Justin I Knew last year from world studies and geometry, and me and him kept going at each other during Socratic seminars during History. I learned not to underestimate him. Justin tells the truth, and he knows it well. He just may not want to say it at times. Justin is a great guy over all, helpful and smart, except he’s a LeBron Fan (Justin if your reading this, Chi-town for 2014 champs!). And then there’s Sam. He's a friend, of a friend, of a friend. We started talking when were in groups during English, and I learned that he can’t be serious when it comes to needing to do work, and fun when he knows everybody can relax. He’s also very organized and helpful whenever you need it, and that’s good to have around. Without these guys and Mr. McCarthy, I would have been asleep every day during 7th period, but thank the lord that I have these guys to give me a wake-up call, and I am very thankful. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

I Celebrate Myself

The feeling of celebrating is great no matter how big or small it is, from getting a good grade on a quiz or even winning a prize. Many people celebrate in different ways too, by just giving a whispered "yes!" or just shouting and screaming around out load in circles. I’m in that same pile of people, because I have probably celebrated in every way God has thought of. I’m not trying to sound like I always win because then I’ll be too arrogant. I’m able to celebrate a lot because I’m one of those who have realized that with every passing second you have done more than what you have done before. With every hour, day, week, month, and year that passes you have done more or have outwitted life than you have before and have gained more experience, which a recent movie has taught me is the importance to a man's core. This a lesson learned from Chris, a transcendentalist of the 21st century in a film called “Into the Wild”. He removes himself from the society that he has believed has possessed everybody with materialism, so he secludes himself in the harsh forest conditions of Alaska with nothing but his gun, books, and mind. I didn't finish the movie; but I bet he felt pretty good after he went back home. He had something to celebrate; he gained so much experience to his knowledge that many of his peers are too scared to even take a peek at. Chris is an example of how we should always celebrate ourselves in every way. Celebrate that you passed that one video game level, or finished that hard math question, or even get on the early bus, at least that’s how I celebrate myself.

Poe

       Edgar Allen Poe has been personally my favorite author since I was first introduced to his writing in the fourth grade. My class started to read his poems and collections around this time of year too, Halloween season. All of his stories have a very creepy and fearful theme to them; either pertaining to ghosts, death, curses, secrets, or murder. What I also like about his writings is how you read them. The majority of his poems are in an easy AABBC style, so you can almost go on and on reading his poems so fluently. 

       Many may argue that Poe's writings are not the best. Many people argue that Poe just gets a pen and paper and starts jibber-jabbering until he finishes a paragraph. I can see this point of view, because Poe does use a lot of old-English in his writings, so it may be hard to read for someone who doesn't like big words, or reading a lot all.

1) no one knows why he died. He left for Baltimore on September the 26th, with a weak pulse and a fever, according to his fiance. He visited his friend as he left town, accidentally taking his friend's walking stick, something that he would never do normally (he took pride in his appearance). He was discovered on a Baltimore street, wearing someone else's clothes, on October the third. Someone sent for a doctor Poe was acquainted with. The doctor took him to his clinic, where he spoke deliriously for a few days. He woke from his delirium on October the seventh long enough to say "Lord help my poor soul," and then he died.Over 20 theories regarding his death exist. One of the most accepted theories was that some henchmen were hired by a politician to drug passerby and force them to vote for said politician. Poe was found on election day, and this was not so uncommon. They would used the drugged men to vote repeatedly, which may explain his clothing. A more recent theory is that he died of a brain tumor. And, of course, there is the possibility that he contracted rabies.

2) He joined the army under the false name "Edgar A. Perry."

3) He was only paid $9 for "The Raven."

4) His madness and drunkenness are largely exaggerations: they are a product of a man named Rufus Griswold who wrote an anonymous, false, and scathing obituary for Poe. He also published a false biography of him. Griswold was upset because of a negative review Poe wrote about one of his works years earlier. Extremely vengeful, he seemed determined to make sure the world falsely thought of Poe as an evil man.

5) Poe played games on the lawn with his wife. She was much younger than he, and there are stories of them playing leapfrog. One account says during a game of leapfrog, he split his pants, and blushed furiously. His young wife could not stop giggling.

6) He loved the fame "The Raven" brought him. The Raven actually became his nickname, and there are stories of children walking behind him on the street and flapping there arms and cawing. Poe would play along by turning suddenly and saying "Nevermore." The children would scream and run away, and he'd chuckle a bit. Then the children would return and repeat the process.

7) He never in his life signed anything "Edgar Allan Poe." The name Allan came from the family who took him in, and he didn't get along very well with his foster father. He therefore signed documents Edgar A. Poe, or E. A. Poe. The name Edgar Allan Poe was given to him after he died by Griswold (see number 4).

8) He was never officially adopted by the Allan family.

9) He loved his foster mother, but he and his foster father never got along. One reason why that may have been is that when Mr. Allan was unfaithful to his wife. Poe was fiercely loyal to Mrs. Allan, who was dying of tuberculosis. It is rumored that John Allan would have affairs with women in the same house where Mrs. Allan lay dying. Poe called him out on this, and they never saw eye to eye after that. Poe threatened to reveal Allan's secret, but never did for fear of ruining Mrs. Allan's name.

10) He was poor all of his life. His foster father was a rich man, but upon his death he left Poe nothing, though he left money to many of his illegitimate children. He had long stopped supporting Poe financially

      Source:"Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories" 

What is an American?

An American is a race that is never clear. Someone might say that you’re an American if you were born in the U.S, but that’s not all. Where were your parents from? Your Grandparents? You can’t be originally from America because you had to come from somewhere else. My favorite artist always says, "You had to come from this place to go to that place." This makes you think about where you are in life, and it makes you appreciate yourself. Bringing it back to what’s an American, you might be born from America, but you ancestors from the 19th century made the hard and long journey from England, France, Spain, and all other countries that their people gave up everything that they had just go for the big shot. Some people got lucky and became big land owners, while many more lost their house, family, and lives trying to start something new. Even those few people that made it to what was thought of "paradise", they still had to fight for the rights that people today take for granted. Bloodshed after bloodshed, Americans fought for their unalienable rights that god has given them. After years of battles and arguments, the Americans have begun to be open. Just look at my school. Last year, I had at least 12 students who said their families come from a different part of the world, but they all said they were American. When someone is smart of their actions, caring, determined for what is right, courageous, diverse, open, and proud of where they came from and who they are; that is when they can be called a true American. 

The Modern Puritan

For those of you that don't know what a puritan is, they are a religious group that strictly follow the rules of god. They devote their live to living away from sin, and to work hard all their lives to ensure there passage to heaven. If they sin, there is sure punishment and even death. They hang on a thin thread of god that he holds with his Index and pinky my fingers over the hot fires of hell. They are taught from the youngest age to be a perfect puritan, but why so strict? People nowadays are lean, relaxed, and tolerate a lot of sinful actions. However be aware of the modern day puritan that is every home, let me introduce you to mine.

My mother is my modern Puritan. Strict with rules and harsh on punishments. Let me give you an example of what I mean. One day I asked my mom if I could to go to the park.  She looked and glared at me for what seemed an eternity, gleaming into my eyes, as if she was searching for any bit of deception in me. She then gave a sign of relief and said, "Ok, you can go.  But you have to finish all of your homework, do extra reading, and help me with some chores I haven't finished." I did as she said, and I got ready to step outside right before she asked said," oh and be home before 7:00 you know how bad this part of the neighborhood can get." .......

It was 7:08, and I can't begin to tell you how mad my mom was. She sat me Ina chair, and began to lecture me of how I could have gotten hurt, how I could have gotten stopped by someone, how she didn't know  where I could have gone to or who I was even with and doing god knows what! That went one for....let’s just say 20 minutes. When she was done, she grounded me of my park privileges and also took away some of my stuff. I just sat there in my room, thinking of how strict my mom was and how I got punished by breaking a curfew by a few minutes. I also thought of why she was so strict. But then it hit me, she give this neighborhood a bad reputation. From what she here from the news, the neighbors, she must have thought that I died in those eight minutes. But I didn't, I saw what was there. Moms gossiping on the benches, children playing tag on tell jungle gym, teens at the basketball court, and not one sign of danger. My mom doesn't know this side of the story; she only knows what she has been told and the dangerous and bad things that could happen. This might be why the puritans are so strict as well. They only know the horrible side of their actions, so to keep away from them; they follow the Puritan ways as strict as possible. I myself am Catholic, and take it from me, the son of a modern puritan, those people are scared of  what they don't even know about, that's why you have to question ideas that you differ against, just like how some people rebelled and went against the Puritan church. Please if I have offended the reader in any way, please forgive me because on not a racist or a religious jerk.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

The main topic right now in my English class is the character John Proctor. For those who do not know who Proctor is, he is a character from "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. He is Farmer in the late 1670's with a wife, two sons, and a jar full of secrets. He had an affair with his wife, and the reverend of the town looks down on him because he isn't that big on the church idea. He doesn't go the church every Sunday, he hasn't baptized his child, and he only knows nine of the ten commandments (he ironically missed the commandment about adultery when the a reverend asked him to recite them!). He was also accused of witchery, along with practically half of the town. With, this evidence and information of John Proctor, lets see if he is a Hero or a stooge.

Hero:
John Proctor can be seen as a hero throughout the story. He didn't "kiss and tell" when he had his affair, which saved the reputation of his mistress. He also didn't snitch on anybody. The thing about witch trials is that is you do not commit to witchery, you die. If you do, you must say who else is with the devil. He rather die than accuse someone else for something that he didn't do, and when he does, he rips the proof that says that he confessed.

Stooge:
Is Proctor a stooge? Does he allow himself to be used just for the services of the town. If he had not had an affair with the niece of the reverend, would he have been suspicious of witchery? By modern definition, a stooge is defined as a "puppet", as in you are being used. Did the town use John Proctor as bait for those who were originally been accused of witchery?

I personally think Proctor is an honest, honorable, hero. He risked his own life to end the paranoia of witchery. But that is only my opinion, not a fact and it should not persuade you to yours.

Arrivals.... there goes the Neighborhood.

          To who may read this, just keep in mind that Martin Barragan is a non-racist that is happy with whoever is around him. Thank you
         
           After many days, weeks, months, or even years, people get comfy to where and who they get put into in life. Its human nature for one to get into a routine that is easy and nice for them. But this all changes when someone, or something, comes into this routine to disturb people. This is where the idea of arrivals messing up the “neighborhood”.
       
           Five years ago, my neighborhood was mostly filled with Hispanic, but since 2010, many of my neighbors have been losing their homes and moving out. These houses stayed unsold for about two years, until last year many other people of another race started buying these houses. I was very skeptical about it, seeing how we could never have the same relationships that my family used to have with my previous neighbors. That all changed when I stepped outside on a rainy summer day, and one of them said “hello” with a very thick accent. I wore a fake smile and said hello back. “You have a very nice house.” He said, and I replied with a warm smile. My last neighbors never commented our house; they were only worried about their own problems. These people kept this for months, and I eventually realized they became part of the neighborhood, coming over for parties, dinner, birthdays, and whatever the neighborhood had to offer. Now looking at this saying of “there goes the neighborhood”, I realized it’s not about that the neighborhood is going somewhere; it’s just the matter of where it goes.

Me

   Well let’s begin by saying that you are read the blog from an average high school student from one of the best schools in the nation, Whitney Young HS. My name is Martin Barragan, I’m “almost” six feet tall, and I love to do anything that challenges me physically and mentally. To say I came to be where I am is the same as to say that it is easy for a salmon to get up a river, which actually takes determination, hard work, and perseverance

     

 I was originally born in Mexico, in a small city of Cotija, Michocan. When I was four, my father was able get my whole family in the U.S. He took us to Chicago, IL. The earliest memory that I could remember was in my preschool years. I worked up my way to eight grade from there on, and that's the year that was different from all the others. When it came to choose what high school I wanted to go to, I felt very pressured. That doesn't mean I choose to go to Whitney young by making a fast choice, I got a lot of advice from all my teachers. 

      

 The first days of schools were the big changes in my life; it was when teachers actually started showing us what we had to start preparing for. All the quizzes, test, homework assignments, finals, and teachers changed how I acted toward how I want to approach my problems and future.