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Partner: Amani Bey (separate analysis though)

Ingredients:

1 lb. of lentils

half an  onion

spinach

Cumin

salt

pepper

Chicken Broth

Coconut Milk

Chicken

Butternut Squash

Tomato Paste

Zucchini

Steps:

1. Brown onions and zucchini in a pot with vegetable oil

2. Add desired amount of pepper

3. Put in half a can of chicken broth

4. Bring to a rolling boil

5. Put the lentils in

6. In separate pot Combine 1/2 can of coconut milk, butternut squash paste, a dash of tomato paste and cumin, add pepper and cayenne to taste

7. Put the coconut mixture in the lentils once the broth in the lentils evaporate.

8. Let the lentils cook down until they become paste-like.

9. Chop and add spinach.

10. If needed, add more cumin and pepper to taste.

Lentils are one of the world’s healthiest food. They are the third highest of any legume or nut in protein by weight, only to be succeeded by soybeans and hemp. Lentils contain dietary fiber, vitamin B, folate and other essential minerals. Lentils can be grown in many types of conditions. The two leading countries in the production of lentils are Canada and India. Together, the account for over 50% of the worlds lentil production. The United States is 5th on the list. Lentils is a good choice if you need to lower cholesterol. It has high levels of soluble fiber which helps keep arteries clean. Lentils being a good source in folate and magnesium make it a good choice for people who are struggling with heart health. Magnesium improves blood flow and oxygen. Lentils have also been found to be able to help with blood sugar stabilization, weight loss, and increasing energy.

A bag of all natural whole lentils cost about $2 for a 16 oz bag. That equates to about 8 servings. That is under $0.30 a serving. This is a way better price compared to the unhealthy dollar menu that in the long run will cost more than one dollar if that person develops health issues. In this recipe, only 1/12 of the ingredients is processed. The rest are all natural ingredients.This is great because the consumer will not have to worry about whether there are harmful chemicals. Overall lentils is a great food option, not only is it extremely healthy, but it is also a product that does not cost a plentiful amount of money.

During this unit, I learned that food is a real essential topic in America. I learned that the food industry is larger than the food businesses themselves. It branches out into government agencies, health and fitness. I learned that making good food choices is not always getting the organic kind because organic doesn't mean natural. There are a lot of pretenders that advertise themselves as healthy but really are not. I think the problem with our food system is that we allow trash to be labeled as food. McDonalds, Wendy's, Pop-Tarts, Meat with multiple animals inside or chemicals and fillers. Nearly all foods in the supermarket that is boxed on shelves or in cans is unnecessarily unhealthy. Also, the healthier choice is too expensive and poorer people do not have the choice but to buy the unhealthier product. If I could make changes it would be to get rid of fast food places that sell half food, decrease organic food prices and distinguish healthy organic and not healthy. I would outlaw the ability to overprice the healthier option and under price the unhealthier option. Hopefully with these changes more people will have access to healthier food choices. I would if I could.

My art mostly comes from a place of longing for something different for my community.  This is tied with imagination and realism about the world. I’m real about worldly topics, but also imagine something crazy and different. I enjoy pencil work because I like the versatility of the tool. Also a lot of this unit was making art for the sake of learning the techniques.

Recipe: Light stir-fry chicken and vegetables with Chinese egg noodles

*This recipe can be vegetarian/vegan friendly by simply replacing the meat with eggs or tofu, or even taking meat out completely!

There is no specific measurements for most of the ingredients because it is your preference on how much vegetables, noodles, or meat you want to eat/use. Also, you don’t need to completely follow these ingredients, feel free to use whatever vegetables or meat you want. Anything that is laying around in the fridge that needs to be used such as leftover vegetables or different kinds of meat such as beef or pork is fine. And for the noodles, it is not completely necessary to use Chinese egg noodles, regular noodles that you have on hand can be used. And if you don't want to eat noodles, you can totally forget about it and just make meat and veggie stir fry and serve this over your choice of rice.

Adjust measurements according to how many people this meal will be serving to.

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breast

Carrots

Onion

Broccoli

Snow peas

Bell peppers

Mushroom

Soy sauce

Minced garlic

Chinese egg noodles

Salt

Black pepper

Red pepper flakes (Optional: only if you want it to be spicy)

Any kind of cooking oil (cooking spray or olive oil are the healthy choices)

How many minutes it takes to prepare and cook:

15-20 minutes

Everything will be cooked very quickly!

Directions:

1. Cut up all your vegetables and meat into bite size pieces.

2. After you finish cutting up your main ingredients, get a wok or a big skillet pan and put it over medium-high heat. Add your cooking oil(1 tablespoon) or cooking spray. Let the pan heat up for at least 3 minutes.

3. Depending on what kind of noodles you are using, if it is not cooked yet, you may need to get a saucepan and boil water, then add in the noodles and blotch noodles for 2-3 minutes, take it out and strain the noodles, then set it aside to dry. (This is an extra step if your noodles are not cooked. Skip this step if it doesn't apply to you)

4. Finely mince the garlic.

5. Throw the minced garlic and onion into the wok/pan and stir fry that until you noticed the pieces of garlic turn golden brown and smells very fragrant and the onion becomes translucent. If you are making this dish spicy, this is the time to also add in your dry hot pepper flakes. This should take 2-3 minutes.

6. Turn the heat down to medium. Add in your sliced chicken or other choice of meat then stir fry until the meat is almost cooked through. You don’t want to cook it all the way yet because you haven’t added the vegetables yet (overcooked meat will taste bad and hard to chew). This will take a few minutes.(If you are using sliced beef, cook for only one minute!)

7. After your meat is cooked about half way through, turn the heat back up to medium-high and add in all your vegetables. Stir fry until vegetables are slightly cooked but do not overcook or else your vegetables will become too soft or soggy (you still want that “crunch” when you bite into your veggies). This will take 2-3 minutes.

8. Add in the noodles and stir fry with kitchen tongs or chopsticks until noodles are heated. (Tongs or chopsticks will be easier to cook with the noodles. If you use a regular spatula, it might break the noodles) This will take 2-3 minutes since you are just reheating the noodles.

9. Turn the heat down to low and add two teaspoons of soy sauce and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir this for a minute and then turn off the heat. Do a taste test and see if you need anymore soy sauce or salt/black pepper. But don’t forget, too much sodium isn’t good for you.

10. Serve this in a plate or a bowl and you are ready to enjoy your quick, healthy, light stir fry!

Analysis of the recipe:

In my recipe, the only ingredient that might have be processed is the choice of noodles you use. I used thin Chinese egg noodles that I bought from a local asian supermarket near my house. I’m sure they’re processed because I did not make these noodles from scratch, they pre-made. All I had to do is blotch them in boiled water for 3 minutes, drain it, then it was good to eat or use in any meal I prep. I would say 30% of the recipe is processed because I put in a good amount of noodles but there’s more vegetables than noodles. The vegetables and boneless skinless meat is whole food, not processed.

Since my recipe is overall healthy, the sugar count and fat count is extremely low because we did not use sugar at all in this recipe and since we used boneless skinless chicken breast and we only used a tiny bit of oil in the pan, this is very little fat. The calorie count shouldn’t be so high because these are mostly veggies, so I can’t estimate it but I am aware that the calorie is not high. If you eat this recipe every day, there wouldn’t be any possible health problem arising because it’s not high in fat, sodium, sugar or anything.

I am not really sure where most of my ingredients came from, I’m positive my vegetables and meat are from this country but I don’t know which state. I don’t think the travel is that far because I’m pretty sure there’s a farm or meat factory nearby. I think the Chinese egg noodles might possibly be from California because lots of Asian food are processed or made in California. I don’t know if my vegetables are grown organically because I bought my vegetables from Shop Rite, not from Whole Foods Supermarket or Trader Joe’s.

This meal does not cost that much, in all honesty. This stir fry recipe is very easy to make and you can use any choice of vegetables, choice of meat or choice of noodles or seasoning. If you have leftover vegetables that need to be used before it goes bad, you could simply cut it up and throw into the wok/pan. If you have raw beef in the freezer or leftover chicken in the fridge, that can be used to. Chinese egg noodles isn’t common in American households so if you don’t have it or can’t find it, some pasta in from the cabinet can be substituted. You don’t really need to make a trip to the grocery store to buy these ingredients unless you want to eat specific vegetables, meat or noodles. I would it’s as cheap as fast food because this recipe is for anything that is laying around in your fridge. I didn't even go to the grocery store to buy my ingredients, I already had it in my fridge and my mom didn't use it for her cooking so I just took all of it and cooked this. I know where we bought it from but I already had it at home.

All my vegetables that I used were grown from farms that I don’t really know about. So the intermediate steps could’ve included chemicals to grow it. I don’t grow any vegetables at home. So if I were to grow my green peppers, onions or garlic at home, I’d have to buy the seed, go through a bunch of steps to get the right kind of soil to grow my vegetables, maintain these plants and make sure I water it, and a ton of more steps. As for commercial production process, they handle it themselves and I just simply purchase these vegetables without the hassle of growing it myself.

Personal Reflection:

Although before this unit, I was aware of some of these issues that we have in our food system, however, this unit has taught me even more about our food system and I actually learned "numbers" and "statistics" involved in it. The biggest issue I see in our food system is how much the government lies to us about it. The "sugar free", "low fat" labels are just lies. These low content food is just being covered up with another kind of terrible chemical or make it taste as good it normally would be. I think that is the worst corruption in our entire food system because this is going into our body and we are being lied to. Some of the changes I can make to my food choices is to make healthier decisions in my diet. I eat healthy during weekdays because I usually eat homemade food since I'm not going out with friends(my mom cooks pretty healthy) but sometimes I should eat brown rice instead of rice. Or whole wheat bread instead of white, and greek yogurt instead of mayo, something like that. The impact of these changes if that I think I will physically feel a lot better and have more energy to go through my day. I also think this will impact while I'm exercising, I'll notice more physical changes if I eat right. I'm willing to make these changes because I want to be fit and I want to be healthy. I don't want to have heart disease or diabetes, it already runs in my family. I want to decrease my chance and beat my genetics by being healthier. I really enjoyed the warm ups we've previously done in this unit because I've read some great facts and educated myself more about this.

Analytical Essay:

After every war, or every deployment to war, there are always soldiers who come back with emotional damage being expected to mold back into society’s way of life. Changes such as the one Bartle was expected to go through when returning from war come in multiple phases. Soldiers are expected to come back and almost instantly get their normal lives together while adjusting to an environment that doesn’t have them constantly feeling like they are still deployed at war. As a result, they go through severe phases of depression and a lot of times, things like suicide is a popular option among these guys.

We saw this in chapter 7 when Bartle finally decided to go out with some friends for the first time since coming back from the war and leading up to that part of the book we learned pretty much Bartle’s daily routine after the war. We know that he is going through a depression and it all comes to a climax when he takes this small trip with some friends. He’s out with friends and decides to go out into the river while his friends are all still on shore not really noticing at first. As time goes on he kind of dozed off and ends up falling asleep face down in the water.

His friends then notice and see that their depressed friend Bartle is lying face down in the water and drag him out thinking that he has drowned which he probably did but that is not the point. The point that the writer of “The Yellow Birds” is trying to make that goes almost perfectly with the thesis of this essay is that soldiers coming home from war go through a tough time. It comes in a set of phases, now how many phases, nobody knows, it is different for almost every person coming from war. As stated in the thesis as well, a lot of times, this time of severe depression(PTSD) can and has a lot of times led to suicide.

Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

1. Anderson, Pauline, and Désirée Lie. "Depression, PTSD Worsen Several Months After Soldiers Return." Medscape. Medscape Medical News, 15 Nov. 2007. Web. 12 Jan. 2015. <http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/565954>.

Narrative Essay:

So sophomore year was by far my worst ever academic year. I wasn’t motivated to do anything my self esteem dropped severely and I felt like an outcast at home. Well as time went on between February 2014 and April 2014, people(my parents) started to take notice(mainly because my advisor noticed and pointed it out at the first narrative conference of the 2013-2014 year.) Anyways my parents realized that the same ways they treated my two younger siblings(my brother and my sister) wasn’t going to do a good job of helping my situation with school at all.

As a result, people like my parents and my brother and sister started to hang around me a little more thinking that spending time would heal all of my emotional wounds. So the school year finished, I barely passed World History and my parents decided not to really punish me for the bad grades but they put limits on all the things I could do like play video games. So summer started rolling through and things were starting to go back to normal until mid July.

It honestly felt and until that point of the day had gone on as any other day, wake up, get dressed, do chores, eat breakfast, play video games, eat lunch,play more video games with friends, but around like 6 or 7 pm, I paused the game just to stretch out and I pulled out my ipod touch and saw that I had a bunch of messages on the kik messenger app. I open it up to see what was happening and I see that one of my friends had sent me a text saying that a mutual friend of ours had run away from home and left a note saying he was going to kill himself.

I stopped everything and started talking to a bunch of friends and everyone is going crazy. I made up my mind right then and there that I was going to go help search for him. I knew my mom wasn’t going to help search and I figured that my dad who had been the Leader of my scout troop the last time that kid had come would also not hesitate to help search and that no matter how much begging I was going to have to do, I was going to help in the search any way that I can. My dad came home from his night shift at work and he must have heard about the situation on his way home because he was scrambling to change out of his police uniform so he could go search. Honestly my mom didn’t really want me to go and at first so did my dad. It took about ten minutes of back and forth arguing before I just stopped listening and changed out of my pajamas into regular clothes.

We searched and searched for hours and couldn’t find him. By the time we got back to the house, we could see the sun rising. We knew that there would be searches going on all week until they found him and though my parents didn’t really agree with me going to all the searches, I went and we didn’t find him. Keep in mind he went missing on a monday or tuesday I believe, and that saturday, my dad had worked during the day and when he got home, again just your normal day for a teen during the summer, we had friends over and I remember my dad pulling me and my little brother and sister aside and telling us that a body had been found in the area where we thought my friend had gone missing and that they were trying to confirm his identity through DNA.

I had the feeling inside when I heard the news that it was him and we had been told that his mom had indeed ID’d him through just seeing him as they wheeled him away.

Dylan Long

Science & Society Q2 Benchmark

Ingredients

(1 serving)

2 Fresh Avocados

1 Lime

1 Package of Cilantro

1 Onion

Garlic

Salt

Tools

1 cutting board

1 sharp cutting knife (large)

1 spoon (large)

2 bowls (1 large 1 small)

1 tupperware

Directions

1. Take your avocados and split them open by cutting the outer shell open in a 360 fashion around the entire shell. Once you have completed the cut, twist the avocado open into two halves. Take your knife and whack the center of it onto the pit so your knife is wedged in the pit, turn your knife 90 degrees and remove your knife; the pit will come with it!

2. Use your spoon to scoop out the avocado from each of the halves and empty it into your large bowl.

3. Once all your avocado is in your bowl, throw out the shells and pits and mix your avocados to a pasty texture.

4. Take out your cutting board, large knife, cilantro, onion and lime.

5. Chop up your cilantro and onion into small diced pieces and dump them into your large bowl.

6. Cut your lime into eighths and squeeze anywhere from 1-8 pieces of lime into your guacamole at your preference.

7. Use your spoon to stir your bowl thoroughly so that all of the ingredients mix together with the avocado.

8. At your own discretion/preference, add a couple sprinkles of salt to your guacamole.

9. Use your spoon to scoop your guacamole out of the bowl and into your tupperware.

10. Enjoy your fresh all-natural guacamole with some chips or tacos!

Analysis

The ingredients that I used in my recipe are simple, all-natural, healthy and can be found in the local grocery market or supermarket. All 100% of this food is whole food and not a single ingredient is processed; only vegetables, herbs and fruits! With my dish, there is no need to worry about any added sugars, fats, preservatives or artificial additives. Unless you have an allergic reaction with one of the ingredients, this is a healthy meal that will yield only good things for your body! In addition to being a great standalone dish, my guacamole is a fantastic way to increase both the flavor and nutrition of many common dinner meals! Going to a party and need to bring something along? My guacamole takes a quick ten minutes to concoct and tastes delicious. It can also be added onto tacos, enchiladas and more.

The ingredients that go into this guacamole (there are few) all come from the local grocery, which likely comes from all over the place. What I do know is that these fresh ingredients are not mass produced with artificial additives and preservatives. My ingredients come from real plantations and farms, and are transported to the local markets while retaining their fresh and authentic essence.

This meal does not cost much at all! With the finer ingredients, this meal falls under the $10 range. In comparison with fast food, guacamole and chips is far more healthy, filling and budget-friendly than fast food. In addition, you can make it in your own home! No need to make any side-tracked pit stops on the way home, guacamole is easy to make it under ten minutes! The thing that I enjoy the most which is another comparison that can be made between guac and fast food is that buying fast food supports massively corrupt corporations, and buying the ingredients for guacamole supports small, local businesses!

There are very few (if any at all) social ramifications of my guacamole. The economy prospers from the buying and selling of the ingredients, the one(s) consuming the guacamole are obviously extremely satisfied, and the ingredients are all natural! The avocados and cilantro come from the farmers market around my home, specifically in the 9th Street Market. Natural ingredients are sold there in the masses by Spanish families. The ingredients presumably come from all over the world! Avocados grow on trees, cilantro grows on farms, et cetera! Once all of these ingredients are combined, you are in for an absolute treat.

Ingredients: 6 summer  rolls

• 4 ounces rice vermicelli noodles

• 12 rices paper

• medium fresh shrimp -  1 pound

• Chicken breast - 1 pound

• 1 cup Thai basil leaves (or Italian basil leaves)

Instruction:

• Boil the water in the pan then place rice vermicelli noodles inside while the head still for 5 min or until the water reboil

• Boil the chicken breast then cut them until small pieces

• Boil the shrimp then peel off the skin.

• Wash the basil leaves then cut them to small pieces

• Cucumber cutting straight

Fill up large bowl with warm water

Tap the warm paper on the rice paper and spread it around then wait for about 10 second for the rice paper to soak in ( this help the rice paper soft and easy to roll later)

• Place 2 piece of shrimps + 2 pieces of chickens in a straight row

• Place basil leaves on top of the meet

• Add  rice vermicelli noodles on top of basil leaves add cucumber

• Carefully lift edge of summer roll skin nearest you up and over filling. Fold sides over filling and continue to roll away from you until edges are sealed.

• Continue building the rest of the rolls. You should make around 12 rolls depend on how much ingredients that are being put inside the rolls

Sauces:

• 2/3 cup hoisin sauce

• 1/3 cup water

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

If you like peanut you can add 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter if you like. I’m not putting it in because some people might be allergic to peanut.

• Whisk together sauce ingredients in a bowl until smooth

Analytical Essay:

Since the first world war many books have been published about the experiences people have had when they were deployed, my class has recently just finished reading one these books. The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers follows the story of private John Bartle and his platoon as they enter in a bloody campaign to control the Northern city of Al Tafar. Like the narrator in The Yellow Birds  Kevin Powers was a soldier in Iraq for two years serving in Mosul and Tal Afar, his very own deployment had changed his whole world. A changing world could result in one’s self to change as well, whether the change is good or bad. An environment can either nurture, or drive it’s inhabitants to madness.

Kevin Powers in the past has described the problems he had when trying to describe those types of experiences that not a lot of people share, which includes the madness, and the extreme violence of war. For example in “The Yellow Birds” the main character John Bartle describes his time during war, “They lay in the dust, broken and shattered and bent, their white shifts gone dark with blood”. When I read this quote I was moved by the main character’s poetic analyzation of the dead bodies around him, almost as if the environment he grew up in didn’t even exist anymore.

To be deployed into war means to adapt to a new environment, but war isn’t always easy to adapt to. War can make soldiers or victims forget their past and their essential learnings that has made them into the human beings that they may be today, nonetheless nothing can prepare American soldiers for the toll war has. In “The Yellow Birds” the main character John Bartle gives his own input on what war does to people, for example “ We hardly noticed a change in September. But I know that everything that will ever matter in my life began then”. This quote relates to the essential question of self and changing world because it gives a reader a time sequence about what was going on at that moment, then goes right into his life and how war has changed all of that.

A changing world could result in one’s self to change as well, whether the change is good or bad. An environment can either nurture, or drive it’s inhabitants to madness. The environments that we call home have many meanings, and we have our own memories about our home. But adapting to a new environment isn’t always the easiest, it could either have a positive outcome or a negative outcome. This sort of change for many people isn’t the easiest and can introduce itself as an obstacle course that can mentally challenge one’s self. The essential question of “ What is the relationship between the self and the changing world” is a powerful message that I believe Kevin Powers has shown numerous times. During the reading of “The Yellow Birds” me and my group members were introduced to a very important character, Murph. Reading about his story and to read about his horrific death was shocking, me and my group members had come to the conclusion that in order to survive in the changing world, one must adapt to become it’s inhabitant. Although people may react in ways that they believe will help them cope , the outcome could be life changing for others.

Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

1).  MailOnline, Stephanie Cross for. "THE YELLOW BIRDS." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 07 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-2199178/Kevin-Powers-THE-YELLOW-BIRDS.html>.

2). Tobar, Hector. "Kevin Powers' Haunting Iraq War Novel." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/10/entertainment/la-ca-jc-kevin-powers-20121111>.

Analytical Essay:

We face hardships everyday. We face positive things everyday. The actions, the things we say, the gestures we make, can impact what happens next in our lives. When we are put into a new position, such as a new school, a new job, a loss of a home, loss of a loved one, etc. It's visible to see how much is put on a person mentally. It’s like we’re in a whole new “universe”, dealing with things that seem so foreign to us. Ones mentality begins to change when put into certain environments and have to be faced with certain responsibilities because they are in a new position, which in fact can better them or destroy them.

When drafted into the war, O’brien was not used to that type of scenery at all. he wasn’t used to the big tanks, the long cold nights, the people with the crazy attitudes. He wasn’t used to having to worrying what will happen next, who will die next. Things such as that was out of the “norm” for him.

The war also put each individual into a position they did not expect:to care for others. Now, often many people may say “what’s wrong caring for others?” Yes, that may be very thoughtful, however, to care for someone during a war, to put them before others.  “They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak.” The war was more than just a battle to kill the enemy. It was the battle to stay alive. Most people would just make sure themselves as a person were just okay. “everyman for himself”. However, in the Things They Carried, they made sure they put their friends were safe first, even if that meant sacrificing themselves to do so. The men who thought they were just going to be with themselves, not interact with people, turned out to befriend each other. They saw that they not only had the responsibility to follow the general’s orders, but they made each other a priority, and a responsibility.  Also throughout the whole journey of they were all they had to each other.

Another example of a changed perspective that was given, was the thought of death. O’brien did not expect to meet death so subtly. “They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”

O’brien and his peers went through a lot during the war. They loved, they lost, and they all dealt with it in different ways. However, it is clear to the reader that none of the soldiers were ready for it. They didn’t see Kiowa’s death coming, nor any of the other tragic deaths that followed.  An individual’s mentality begins to change when they are put into certain situations, and have to be faced with certain responsibilities because they are not used to the new position they are now in.

Narrative Essay:

As a child I was born with a genetic trait that caused a bone in my foot to grow in the opposite direction, which lead to complications early on in life and worsened throughout my years. At the age of 12 months I began to take my first steps and started my journey of walking. My mom noticed that once I began  walking I would fall more often than most kids. Fast forward to 4th grade when I first started playing for a soccer team in my neighborhood. After and during practices and games I would feel this abnormal discomfort in my right foot.          Running for a long amount of time would cause my right foot to “lag” or stumble into the other foot. As years went by the problem only increased.

I myself did not fully realize my foot and the troubles it came with till high school. So my parents took me to see a podiatrist freshmen year. He explained a lot of my unanswered questions and told me the problem would gradually worsen. They gave me many options like wearing special funny looking shoes, or getting customized inserts, and the last option I was told about was a surgery procedure that would realign my bone and fix the arch in my foot. At first I was terrified by the sound of surgery... Someone cutting open your foot and breaking bones to realign them was not something I wanted. So they gave me customized inserts to try for a year or two.

Junior year! One of the most stressful years of a teenagers life. Also the year I decided I wanted to get the surgery for my foot out of the way. December 18th the surgery took place and along with that surgery came many personal complications. The whole experience not only fixed my foot but fixed my perspective on everything. I stayed in the hospital for four days and some of the nurses were not particularly kind. I remember pressing a button for help to get out of bed in the middle of the night and a nurse came in but didn’t seem quite thrilled about me calling for assistance and had a poor attitude. After she left and closed the door I laid there and thought, “Wow.. how could someone treat someone like that. What did I deserve to be belittled just because I could not move on my own.” This little experience lead to many more and with each “event” I began to realize more and more about how people act toward people. Just because you’re injured doesn’t mean everyone is gonna treat you with care.  

Analytical Essay:

We face hardships everyday. We face positive things everyday. The actions, the things we say, the gestures we make, can impact what happens next in our lives. When we are put into a new position, such as a new school, a new job, a loss of a home, loss of a loved one, etc. It's visible to see how much is put on a person mentally. It’s like we’re in a whole new “universe”, dealing with things that seem so foreign to us. Ones mentality begins to change when put into certain environments and have to be faced with certain responsibilities because they are in a new position, which in fact can better them or destroy them.

When drafted into the war, O’brien was not used to that type of scenery at all. he wasn’t used to the big tanks, the long cold nights, the people with the crazy attitudes. He wasn’t used to having to worrying what will happen next, who will die next. Things such as that was out of the “norm” for him.

The war also put each individual into a position they did not expect:to care for others. Now, often many people may say “what’s wrong caring for others?” Yes, that may be very thoughtful, however, to care for someone during a war, to put them before others.  “They shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak.” The war was more than just a battle to kill the enemy. It was the battle to stay alive. Most people would just make sure themselves as a person were just okay. “everyman for himself”. However, in the Things They Carried, they made sure they put their friends were safe first, even if that meant sacrificing themselves to do so. The men who thought they were just going to be with themselves, not interact with people, turned out to befriend each other. They saw that they not only had the responsibility to follow the general’s orders, but they made each other a priority, and a responsibility.  Also throughout the whole journey of they were all they had to each other.

Another example of a changed perspective that was given, was the thought of death. O’brien did not expect to meet death so subtly. “They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”

O’brien and his peers went through a lot during the war. They loved, they lost, and they all dealt with it in different ways. However, it is clear to the reader that none of the soldiers were ready for it. They didn’t see Kiowa’s death coming, nor any of the other tragic deaths that followed.  An individual’s mentality begins to change when they are put into certain situations, and have to be faced with certain responsibilities because they are not used to the new position they are now in.

Narrative Essay:

As a child I was born with a genetic trait that caused a bone in my foot to grow in the opposite direction, which lead to complications early on in life and worsened throughout my years. At the age of 12 months I began to take my first steps and started my journey of walking. My mom noticed that once I began  walking I would fall more often than most kids. Fast forward to 4th grade when I first started playing for a soccer team in my neighborhood. After and during practices and games I would feel this abnormal discomfort in my right foot.          Running for a long amount of time would cause my right foot to “lag” or stumble into the other foot. As years went by the problem only increased.

I myself did not fully realize my foot and the troubles it came with till high school. So my parents took me to see a podiatrist freshmen year. He explained a lot of my unanswered questions and told me the problem would gradually worsen. They gave me many options like wearing special funny looking shoes, or getting customized inserts, and the last option I was told about was a surgery procedure that would realign my bone and fix the arch in my foot. At first I was terrified by the sound of surgery... Someone cutting open your foot and breaking bones to realign them was not something I wanted. So they gave me customized inserts to try for a year or two.

Junior year! One of the most stressful years of a teenagers life. Also the year I decided I wanted to get the surgery for my foot out of the way. December 18th the surgery took place and along with that surgery came many personal complications. The whole experience not only fixed my foot but fixed my perspective on everything. I stayed in the hospital for four days and some of the nurses were not particularly kind. I remember pressing a button for help to get out of bed in the middle of the night and a nurse came in but didn’t seem quite thrilled about me calling for assistance and had a poor attitude. After she left and closed the door I laid there and thought, “Wow.. how could someone treat someone like that. What did I deserve to be belittled just because I could not move on my own.” This little experience lead to many more and with each “event” I began to realize more and more about how people act toward people. Just because you’re injured doesn’t mean everyone is gonna treat you with care.  

Hello, my name is Dejah Smith. I would like to give a 5 star book rating to Modelland By Tyra Banks. This book is great for young teens of any kind.

The book Modelland takes place in a city, and it  follows a teen girl Tookie, who is not the “Prettiest” one. She is known as the “Weird Looking” girl. As a matter of fact she wasn’t even noticed. And being noticed was a big deal in the city she lives in. Modelland is a book fiction book with lots of plots. I believe the books main technique catches many people eyes. It gives hope to young girls who think they are not pretty enough to have certain dreams or be like certain people in the fashion industry. The main thing Tyra Banks wants to make out is Weird is also beauty. Which is the main idea of this book.

¨Have you ever seen her? The girl whose face not even the meanest person you know would describe as yuck but who you’d in a million-no trillion years describe as alluring either. The girls whose eyes are 3 centimeters too far apart and whose mouth is four centimeters too wide. Not that you’d break out a ruler, but when you look at her, it’s enough to say there is definitely something wrong.“  Pg.1

The quote above describes how people will never think that a person who has weird futures will be looked at as pretty, or beautiful. The quote starts off by explaining how it is rare for someone to consider this girl attractive. Then, it goes into her looks. None of them are bad, or ugly. They are WEIRD. Her looks catches peoples attention. This quote is also telling you that Tookie is the main character, indicating  that her looks will soon get her somewhere in life.

“Have you ever seen Tookie De la Cremé?

I bet you have.

Maybe you’ve even met her.

You just don’t remember her.

No one ever does.

For as unusual-looking as she was, Tookie was a Forgotta-Girl, one of the most forgottable girls in the entire world.

But maybe not for long.”

This quotes is an perfect example of how a “weird girl” looks makes her forgettable. But, that may soon all change. After years of being walked passed and unnoticed, Tookie De La Cremé may soon have her chance to show the world what she haves.

Now, this is used in the books main idea because these two quotes come from the first chapter of the book. It gives the reader a clear, detailed understanding of Tookies looks and how she is never acknowledged in school, but something is going to happen that will have everyone knowing her name.

I am not the only one felt Tyra Banks motive was really good. Tookie lives in a world where life revolves around fashion, and people idolize the most fashionable women of all: the Intoxibellas. Tookie has always dreamed of going to Modelland, a school for these famed characters, but because of her "ugly" face and physique, she feels there's no hope for her. Her family pushes to get Tookie's sister, Myrracle, discovered for Modelland.”

This quote is basically telling reader that this books is going to weird and interesting. The made up words with a fairytale is always enjoyment. And it is going to show that there is no such thing as ugly.

The book I read was The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. This book is mostly about a boy name Ponyboy gets attacked by a group of Socs, The socs are a group that  the greasers are beefing with and after he decides to come and walk home alone from the movies, they attack him. The author communicates Ponyboy’s outsider status through the mood, tone and wording choice. This technique has a lot of effect overall. It makes the reader feel like they’re in the book as the character. It makes the reader feel that they know that the greasers and the socs don’t like each other. This makes the reader think about many different things like why don’t they like each other, did someone get killed because they didn’t like each other, and many more other questions. The reader influence their understanding by careful looking and understanding the mood, tone and word choice.

His rescuers are his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. The next night, they all go out and go watch a movie with Dally. Darry slaps Ponyboy, which he has never done and then Ponyboy flees. He sees Johnny which is a kid they found in the lot who was beaten up by the socs, then the both of them decide to go to the park. The Socs come to the park and start to attack both of them then they drowned Ponyboy . When he wakes up he is laying next to Johnny and Bob, one of the Socs, who is dead. Johnny had to kill him because he was going to drown Ponyboy and then beat him up after that. They look for Dally so they can get help. He gives them a gun and some money then sends them to an abandoned church. Dally, Ponyboy, and Johnny are on their way back home when they see the church they were in was on fire, so they jump into action. They get the kids out but then they wake up in a ambulance. The greasers beat the Socs in a rumble. They found out that Johnny is dying. Ponyboy wakes up in his bed at home.

There are a lot of techniques but there is only one great one. The technique is the quote sandwich is first introduce the idea that the quote will support. Then, your quote and after explain your quote support your idea. This technique is the best to get a quote and explain and its very simple to use.

In chapter 1, ¨WHEN I STEPPED OUT into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.¨ He is leaving the movie house alone and he knows he not suppose to. Page 3-4, chapter 1, “Greasers can't walk alone too much or they'll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream "Greaser!" at them, which doesn't make you feel too hot, if you know what I mean.” He knows the dangers of walking home alone rather than go to the movies with one of his brothers. He could get jumped anytime because he is a greaser and because they don’t like each other. Page 5, chapter 1, “I knew it wasn't any use though the fast walking, I mean even before the Corvair pulled up beside me and five Socs got out.” He knows now that he should of brought someone.. He already knows what is about to go down. Page 5, chapter 1 “I was sweating something fierce, although I was cold. I could feel my palms getting clammy and the perspiration running down my back. I get like that when I'm real scared.” The author is trying to makes us feel like we are in the story and or the character. By the tone and the word choice by the author, we can feel it.

Page 5, chapter 1 “I finally thought of something to say. "No." I was backing up, away from that knife. Of course I backed right into one of them. They had me down in a second.” Ponyboy is a smart boys but doesn’t use his head. But he stood up for his self and said something back. Us as the readers could feel this intense moment between Ponyboy and the socs. Page 6, chapter 1 “ I lay there and wondered what in the world was happening people were jumping over me and running by me and I was too dazed to figure it out. Then someone had me under the armpits and was hauling me to my feet. It was Darry.” He doesn’t listen to his brother but he is the only one who comes and sees him laying down. The author is trying to show with his wording to explain what happen and who came basically.

There was any different things said about the book from a reviewer and or a fan. Some people said good things and some people said bad things. A reviewer said, “They grew up on the outside of society. They weren't looking for a fight. They were looking to belong.” The readers will agree with the reviewer because its the truth. For example I have something to back this up from the book, page 4, chapter 1, “We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next. Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.” The greaser grew up poor. They had to do things they didn’t want to do to stay alive. The robbed, stolen, do wild things, have gang fights. Another example is on page 3, chapter 1, “. My hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in back and long at the front and sides, but I am a greaser and most of my neighborhood rarely bothers to get a haircut. Besides, I look better with long hair.” This shows that Ponyboy is an outsider by the way he looks.

This structures of the Outsider is very important. It is important because the books starts off very great and then the book doesn’t take sometime to tell the story, it just goes right into it. I think this was a perfect way to start off the book. It makes the reader want to continue to read the book unstop. The structure of all the fighting scenes, when he leaves the movie house, decides to walk home alone makes the book how it is. The scenes makes you feel like they are really outsiders. For example, on page 5, chapter 1 “I was sweating something fierce, although I was cold. I could feel my palms getting clammy and the perspiration running down my back. I get like that when I'm real scared.” The author is trying to makes us feel like we are in the story and or the character and like we know what is about to happen. The author communicates Ponyboy’s outsider status through the mood, tone and wording choice as the readers could see.

Any reader may take a first look at the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie, and come a automatic conclusion that it was meant for little kids. The book has an interesting cover to it that can simply throw you off from wanting to read it. It brings a little kid vide to the book, and as you read you can see that the author wanted you to understand the seriousness of it all, but still grasp upon the humor. It was a way of keeping the book interesting, fresh, makes it unique. The book was able to give off a tone that would keep the reader interested, and make sure that it would be able to stand out.

Within the first page of the book the protagonist, named Arnold or Jr, tells us about his birth. We know that he’s a Indian boy living in a society of people that are also Indians. Where they live isn’t the best community, but it was the only place that they could go to because the “whites” didn’t want to live with them. They were thought of as monsters, lesser of a person, and for that they were placed distant from them. Now back to Arnold, we learn that he had excess cerebrospinal fluid and that was stuck all inside his skull. The doctors had to take it out so that he could live a normal life, but the way that he decides to tells us was unconventional. He says “And brain grease works inside the lobes like car grease works inside an engine. It keeps things running smooth and fast. But weirdo me, I was born with too much grease inside my skull, and it got all thick and muddy and disgusting.” He didn't want to be all technical, boring the reader so he made it seem less of a problem. First he calls it “brain grease,” and that changes the whole mood that you feel about the situation. Saying “brain grease” makes it funny which takes away a lot of the seriousness making it a humorous comment. Also, he says “But weirdo me” like he had a choice to be born the way that he did. The way that the author words what happened is an example of the tone of the story, and that helps to change the mood of the reader. He was making you feel happy and not so much worried about Arnold.

We skip ahead a few pages and we come across another example of a change of tone. On page 26 we have Arnold telling us that is about to start high school. You start to get more information about how his education has been before that. He’s a smart kid, but the school he’s at now within his Indian community just isn’t right for him. He needs to get out of that and go to the school with the white kids because that’s where he could be more of himself. So with him starting high school, he follows that with telling us that he’s like every other boy that likes curves, but he just doesn't go crazy about them like the others. He’s the other boys but doesn't show it much, but what we do get to know is that he masturbates a whole lot. He says “Yup that’s right I masturbate, I admit that I masturbate….If there were a Professional Masturbators League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars.” That’s something that you could possible expect but you’re just not ready to hear it. It throws you off a bit, but you still are able to get a few laughs about that statement. He says “drafted number one” meaning he does it often and that’s a nasty thought to has in your head. It’s just funny for most readers when they hear that. An unexpected turn of event that just throws the reader off but stills gives them a nice little laugh while reading. It makes sure that you stay invested in the story. Just a good thing to do.

Last but not least we have on page 62 more insight about how Arnold’s life was like growing up. We know that his dad gets drunk a lot when he should be buying stuff for the family, we know that his sister just moved about after meeting some guy at the casino, Arnold’s mom is trying to keep things together with the house, and that his life wasn’t really private within the community. They share within there, and anything that happens like a funeral or wedding, everybody is expected to attend. Also, you find out that you’re fighting a lot. There are many rules about it, but to sum it up you’re basically always fighting every time you run into someone. For Arnold that’s not so swell because he can’t fight. He says, “My all time record was five wins and one hundred and twelve loses. Yes, I was a terrible fighter. I was a human punching bag. I lost fights to boys, girls, and kids half my age.” Maybe he’s emphasizing, but maybe he’s telling the truth. Who really knows, but what you do know is that that’s a crazy number difference. Winning 5, and losing 112 is ridiculous. He shouldn't be fighting but he can’t help it. It’s was the way that Arnold was brought up.

As you go back and think about all those cases, there are clear other options to give that information to the reader, but this author decided to be differently. He didn't want to bore you with the easy way of telling you. He wanted the reader to be focused on the book 24/7 and making those little jokes in between with the serious made it a whole lot better of a book. The author knew that you can’t always be the same. You had to mix it up a bit. Be something different. Be the change that you want to see and so he made it his reality. This book portrays a tone that makes the reader laugh. Makes the reader want to read more. Makes the reader want the book to never so that he or she can vast in its glory.

Of the billions of people on the planet, all of them have different experiences. Eventually, unfortunate things happen to them. Something as simple as a new, inconvenient class schedule at school, or something as serious as the death of a loved one. When these things happen, some sort of lifestyle change occurs. Maybe, as a result of the schedule change, a student has to wake up earlier. Or maybe, as a result of a spouse’s death, a man has to live without a wife. People can change, but change isn’t easy. All people have and need a coping mechanism in order to survive their changing world.

In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Jimmy Cross is a platoon leader in charge of O’Brien and a group of American soldiers in Vietnam during the war. Cross is still infatuated with a his teenage crush, Martha, from years ago. This quote on page 1 shows his obsession: “he [Cross] would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending. He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there.” Cross is still attached to Martha not just because he can’t help it, but because it’s his way of coping with being a soldier in Vietnam. Each day, their troop wakes up at dawn, walks practically the whole day, then sleeps for a few hours. Day in and day out. It’s understandable that Cross needs to remember Martha to remember what home was like and to remember that if all goes well, he can get back to her.

On page 239, O’Brien explains the importance of storytelling during wartime to the reader: “We kept the dead alive with stories. When Ted Lavender was shot in the head, the men talked about how they'd never seen him so mellow, how tranquil he was, how it wasn't the bullet but the tranquilizers that blew his mind. He wasn't dead, just laid-back.” By telling each other stores, O’Brien and his comrades can, for a little while, escape the war, socialize, and have fun. A good story engages the listener and takes him or her into a different world. Without them, it would be much harder for the soldiers to deal with the gruelling daily routine. Storytelling is another coping mechanism that O’Brien and company utilize to survive the ever-changing war.

On page 33, O’Brien describes the character of Ted Lavender, a fellow soldier: “Like when Ted Lavender went too heavy on the tranquilizers. ‘How's the war today?’ somebody would say, and Ted Lavender would give a soft, spacey smile and say, ‘Mellow, man. We got ourselves a nice mellow war today.’” The tranquilizers make him sleepy and happy but still able to walk, so they’re the perfect mechanism to make the world a little more tolerable. Soldiers in Vietnam, particularly O’Brien’s crew, had to walk miles and miles every day. Without a coping mechanism like tranquilizers, they wouldn’t be able to deal with the drudging routine of war.

Here’s a quote from O’Brien in an interview published in the New York Times: “Storytelling is the essential human activity. The harder the situation, the more essential it is. In Vietnam men were constantly telling one another stories about the war. Our unit lost a lot of guys around My Lai, but the stories they told stay around after them. I would be mad not to tell the stories I know.” Again, the soldiers tell stories to other soldiers so that they can briefly escape the war they’re in. “The harder the situation, the more essential it is,” implies that O’Brien has been in plenty of difficult situations and probably has experience where storytelling was necessary at varying degrees to tolerate and get through the situation. His account confirms that having a coping mechanism, such as storytelling, is necessary to survive a changing world.

Tranquilizers, stories, and even dreaming, are all coping mechanisms. When people go through tough times, such mechanisms are essential to carrying on with their lives. Coping is simply a part of human survival. Change arrives in some form, and something has to be done to adjust to that change. That’s what coping is, and it’s how change happens in a person.

Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

• Bruckner, D.J. "A Storyteller For the War That Won't End." New York Times Online. The New York Times. April 3, 1990. Web. October 20, 2009.

• O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print.

Narrative Essay:

One morning, two and a half years ago, my dad gave me an ultimatum. He told me that I had to take up some sort of physical activity. The options he recommended were sports and crossfit. I wasn’t a fan of the competitiveness of most sports and I had never heard of crossfit, so I asked him about crossfit. He explained that it was a fitness regimen for all ages designed to increase cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, speed and strength. I thought that sounded interesting, so I acquiesced.

At the time, I was really skinny for my age and height: 78 pounds. For some reason that I still don’t really understand, I wasn’t hungry often. Even when I was, I usually found whatever I was doing more interesting than food. Though I was told by parents that my weight was unhealthy, I had a bad tendency to ignore them. It didn’t seem unhealthy to me - I was never in pain, and except for occasional pangs of hunger, there weren’t any repercussions.

I started crossfit at the Sweat gym on Main Street, just a few blocks away from my house. I went two days a week to get personal training from Jim, who has been awesome throughout the whole session. I was an awkward kid and I remember saying very little for the first session we had because it was new and scary to me.

Over the next few weeks, I learned a lot of techniques and forms. Deadlifts, presses, front and back squats, cleans, jerks, snatches, and so on, became like second nature to me. Still today they’re embedded in my muscle memory. Knowing form sped up the training process - now I was really doing crossfit. Jim started assigning me actual crossfit workouts. They included a strength and a WOD (“workout of the day”) portion. The strength portion was dedicated to getting PRs (personal records) and the WOD portion was dedicated to completing an amount of exercises as fast as possible or completing as many exercises as possible in a given time.

After a month or so, I was gaining weight. Slowly, but surely - as a kid, I was always growing, but it was happening faster now. My dad had to tell me before I noticed, but when I did, that got me excited. I noticed that I was enjoying crossfit more than I used to. Two months after I started, I went to see the doctor for a checkup. I was now above the eighth percentile in body weight. This is about the time when my trainer opened up his own gym on Ridge Avenue, which is where I worked out from then on.

That’s my favorite part about crossfit, or any sort of exercise regimen. The more you do it, the more accustomed you are to doing it, and the better you get at it, and it’s uphill from there.

Soon, summer ended, and I went back to school - my first year at SLA. Things got complicated pretty quickly. When school ended, I had to take the train to the gym, which made my schedule hectic, given that I get out of school at very different times each weekday. I would walk up the hill on Ridge to the gym, then get driven home by parents. Fortunately, I settled into the not-so-routine routine well enough, and eventually, I went to the gym three times a week.

I did this for about a year and a half. I was gaining weight and increasing in body weight percentile, and the doctor told me during a checkup that my resting heart rate was lower than average (which is a good thing). When 2014 came, Jim bought a new gym. It was this huge, spacious building with a high ceiling just a few blocks away from the previous, and much smaller, location. It was also closer to the train station I got off at, so it was perfect. I went a solid three days a week for months.

Unfortunately, in the recent months in junior year, school caught up with me. I’m still doing crossfit, just at a slower pace - two days a week instead of three. But, crossfit has been immensely helpful in my weight gain process. Two and a half years ago, I was 78 pounds and around the eighth percentile for my weight. Now I’m 128 pounds and nearing the 40th percentile. Crossfit has been the perfect mechanism for me to change myself.