Humanities Portfolio 2012

In life, there are many ups and downs, twists and turns and just unfathomable challenges . We all go through these, there is no “easy way out”, we just have to push through it all. But it should not be said that with overcoming these obstacles in life, there is nothing earned. For me, or to be more accurate, for all of the students who have worked hard this past year, what we gained was more valuable than we had ever thought. The work we put forth, the hours of sleep lost, every word we had to type, all seemed so miniscule compared to what we were working towards. We gained knowledge, the skeleton key of life. Knowledge is the most important factor opening doors for yourself. Any door. Now, let you show my knowledge.

I have gone through so many hardships throughout this year. It made me realize that for a victory that counts, you must first put forth more effort than you thought possible. Victory that people obtain by living easy or using pawns is a false victory. For example we once did a role play about the French Revolution. I played the role of a noble so everything was handed to me and life was easier. I felt victorious in life while others suffered. You can read more about my and others roles here. The people at the bottom were put through so much and given so little power. The fact that they decided to rebel was a victory itself. The fact that they were successful was even more glorious. Sure it was short lived, but it was a victory they deserved and they fought for it. They won the moment they started to fight for what was right. A victory isn’t something that has to last long, you know. It is something much deeper that we may never fully understand. Actually, maybe it would be good if it stayed like that.

A victory of the same magnitude can be won through methods other than violence. I am sure that you have heard the expression, “the pen is mightier than the sword”. In some cases, this is true. Even the smallest piece of writing can win battles, violent or not. During our class Mr. Block pushed us to not only think that writing conquers all, but he helped us mold a mindset so that we knew that literature was power, power that we all needed. Desperately.

To show us the power in literature, no, to show the power in our own words, Mr.Block had us write poems. I unexpectedly enjoyed this project. It was probably my favorite out of all the projects given to me. At first I thought that it would be a waste of time, but instead it let me express myself in ways I had longed for. The poems made me feel as though my words had life, had meaning. That was a feeling that was so surreal to me. Something that I had long awaited. It felt great. At that one moment I felt the freedom that we have been denied time and time again. And at that moment, I too, felt victorious.

Here is another piece of writing I did throughout most of the year that I am proud of.

Playwright project