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Media Fluency Script

Why did you make it look the way it does?

I made my slide the way it looks so I could involve different colors, texture, and value to the slide. I also had some rhythm which is the principle of design that indicates movement.  I wanted to make it visual and to have one slide with one point, make the font bigger, and contrast whether it's in shape, color, or size. I believe this assignment should not be overwhelmed with information but a billboard with certain qualities of a street billboard. I decided to make mines funny because a billboard should be very memorable. As I have stated, I wanted to provide a visual demonstration of my message. It may seem a little odd and irrelevant to my magazine, but it actually shows a common message throughout my Me magazine slide which was to “Never never never give up!”

I asked myself this question, “What phrase would show a complete overview of my magazine article?” I decided to make a funny memorable slide and display my idea regarding my me magazine in within one line. I made 3 different slides so I could decide which of the 3 was the best one.

I was considering applying a lot of unneeded information. But since we are required to include one single phrase, I decided that never never never give up would be a cool memorable way of showing a quick overview of all that I'm trying to communicate. It’s very difficult to come up with one single phrase to explain and entire magazine of myself. I also wanted to make it more memorable amongst others so they would understand the idea. The small mouse was escaping the danger coming his way from the cat that was going to attack him.

What describes me the most ? Am I going for my girly side, or should I pick my athletic side? This is a tough decision because both traits are a big part in my life. My girly side sets the first impression for everyone, which is important. On the other hand, sports is my biggest passion. I love the feeling of being “fit”. For my slide I chose to incorporate both traits.

Black Sparta Management has my name written all over it. This is the boxing gym that I go to. In my “Me Magazine” I wrote a lot about boxing and all the great people I met through boxing. Boxing is a big part of my life, It built me into the person I am today. Boxing taught me to not hold back. For my slide I chose to have have the main focus be “Black Sparta”. I chose the font to be 96 so that the people's eyes immediately go towards it. Black would be the best color because it’s dark so you can see even from long distances and it shows the boldness.  

Kai Bradley Gutiérrez de Terán

Green Stream

Tech-Ms. Hull

December 2, 2016

Script:

Making my slide was a hard process. I made 11 rough drafts of different slides before I chose this one. My slides varied from motivation, social justice, police brutality, government surveillance, baking, me getting into SLA, and me moving to Philly. It was confusing and hard figuring out how to fit as much as I could from my “Me Magazine” and, at the end I decided to do something about moving to Philadelphia from Albuquerque and getting into SLA.

After looking at different pictures and drawings, I found a backdrop of the Philadelphia skyline and decided to use it. I put it into Pixlr Editor so that I could keep only the skyline and make the rest transparent but I encountered a problem: Pixlr Editor did not let me keep the buildings, it only let me keep the sky, which had the out print of the buildings, and, to solve this problem, I thought that if I edited it a bit I could make it work. I made the skyline purple, put it on a slide, and decided to contrast it with the background of the slide and, naturally and following the color circle, I made the background yellow. After looking at it for a bit, I felt that something was wrong but I did not know what it was and decided I would let it rest. The next day I asked for some opinions from friends, which was a good idea the main thing that stuck out to me was that I should make the contrast stronger. I then edited it some more to make the purple darker to contrast the bright yellow. I was satisfied with the skydrop but I knew I needed to add more to the slide.

I wanted a photo of me in the slide and chose a selfie I took in Cape May last autumn, and started to edit it in order to make the background transparent -when I say transparent I mean that part of the background comes through the picture. I chose to have it this way because it showed most of my face. This was a good choice because when I showed it to people they wanted to look back at it, finding it interesting and cool.

Since I already had incorporated Philadelphia into the slide I decided I wanted to put SLA in too. As I looked online at the different logos of SLA I decided to go with this one because it was appealing and simple. I put it into Pixlr Editor and decided to get rid of the white, which was inside the circles, and I made that area transparent. I then put in in my slide and realized that to make a bigger contrast I needed to change the color of the flames, which I did from white to orange. I made the adjustments and then put it on the slide.

Once the graphics were done, I had to decide what to write and in what font. I already knew that I was going to put something about moving to Philadelphia and how and when I got into SLA, but I had to find the words and make it short. I decided to go with “[place] got Kai in [year]” because it was short and straight to the point. I had some trouble finding what words to use to say how I got into SLA and decided that I should make it like a math equation because it was simple, used few words and delivered a clear message. I decided to use the “Frijole” font because, as you can see, the Philadelphia skyline has a graffiti/street art look and “Frijole” went the best with it, giving it what I think is an appealing texture. I decided to make the letters the same color as the skyline so there would be harmony.

Science: Celiac disease is a serious genetic autoimmune disorder where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. It’s an autoimmune disease where people can not digest wheat, oats, rye, and barley. When a person with celiac eats gluten they may get: Anemia, usually resulting from iron deficiency,Loss of bone density (osteoporosis) or softening of bone (osteomalacia), Itchy, blistery skin rash (dermatitis herpetiformis), damage to dental enamel, mouth ulcers,Headaches and fatigue, nervous system injury, including numbness and tingling in the feet and hands, possible problems with balance, and cognitive impairment, Joint pain, Reduced functioning of the spleen (hyposplenism), Acid reflux and heartburn, Stomach aches, or sometimes have none of these.

Society: It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people worldwide. Two and one-half million Americans are undiagnosed and are at risk for long-term health complications. So many people have it and don’t even know it. The people who have it and don’t know it cause they don’t get symptoms health gets affected in the long run and great chances or having death threatening diseases.

Self: When I was younger years old I would always get stomach pains and no one knew why. I had them worse when I was 9 so they took me to the hospital and could not figure out what was wrong so they sent me to a G.I doctor and ran a bunch of test and it turned out I had celiac. It sucked at first to get use to since it was uncommon and not many knew about it. Once I got use to it, it became easier as I got older and turned out to be not so bad. Also as I got older more restaurants and places are coming out with more gluten free options. I think it's cool how people with celiac disease has a better chance of living longer in terms of health then an average person.

Sources:

Beyond Celiac. "Celiac Disease Research News." Beyond Celiac Research. Beyond Celiac, 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. <http://www.beyondceliac.org/research-news/>.  

Mayo Clinic Staff Print, Mayo Clinic. "Celiac Disease." Overview - Celiac Disease - Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 17 Aug. 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/home/ovc-20214625>.

Dharmesh H. Kaswala, Gopal Veeraraghavan, Ciaran P. Kelly and Daniel A. Leffler *. "Celiac Disease: Diagnostic Standards and Dilemmas." MDPI. The Celiac Center, Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA, 16 June 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. <http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/3/2/86/htm>.

First thing that one would notice is the color of the slide. I learned that the colors were supposed to be eye appealing. I learned that contrast and space have something to do with colors.As a result, I thought of the most common favorite color which is blue. There’s other colors like white and dark blue, to add a little variety without the slide being too colorful. I also made the font huge so that everyone in the room could be able to read my slide. The font I chose was Roboto and made the color white to be able to read easily. I am passionate about English Language Arts and I like to write. That is the reason why I inserted a poem that I made.

When first assigned the media fluency slide presentation I had some pretty good understanding of what could be a job well done. Unfortunately, as I opened a fresh slide to express my thoughts in a presentation I couldn't start.  I knew the way I had things visioned I would be breaking guidelines for the best ways to create a presentation. For example: In the Presentation Zen learning site I’d be avoiding the second rule, “one slide, one point.” Since my, Me Magazine scanned over some key detail things about my life, I thought to just incorporate everything that shapes Kennedy. Clearly that point created a setback, so I waited. Then I thought why not choose my passion I wrote about, it’s the center of my world and it’s dancing.

To create this slide I thought of a simple title, Kennedy’s World. Only because dancing is literally my world it’s the most time consumed part of my life, next to school of course. So, then I made title big, to match how big it’s apart of my life. Making words in presentations big is something both, Presentation Zen and Zach Holman discuss. Zach Holman also talks about how letters can even act as “visually interesting shape,” which explains the stretched, different looking font in the title. There is a contrast between the background and subject. One is on top of the other, which may describe importance. Final photo composition techniques added includes, symmetry. I centered everything to make it more appealing to the eye.

I made the slide like that because I was told it had to be about us so I took an image of what I love to do, playing video games. My reason why I chose the image does not matter and is not what this script is mostly about. The script is mostly about why I chose to design the image as it is. It has a bunch of color because as stated from one of the research pages we were allowed to go to “Color is the very first thing people will notice.” after reading that I took a bunch of text boxes and colored the background. I wrote what the picture means to me in big letters because that was also one of the statements from the research pages to not be a wimp and use big letters. I made below the big letters another line that is very small because I am quiet almost all the time so I wanted it to match me as well but the ! marks are way big so to me it seems I’m screaming my frustration to the world. I didn’t chose an image to “bleed” because if I did it would hide the name of the games and I didn’t want that. We are allowed to only change the slide after we post the scripts and slides on SLATE but I don’t know what to change if given the chance.

This is my slide. I chose to make the background yellow because yellow is my favorite color, and it gives the slide a soft-looking appearance. Here I wrote about a few of my interests and/or “likes”. Notice how I underlined Likes. I did this so it would add emphasis. If I were to leave it like the rest of the words, it would be hard to tell that that’s the aspect of the slide that I’m trying to focus on if that makes sense. I feel like this is a great way to describe who I am because it lists things that I enjoy. I decided to use a nice readable font because it gives the slide a simplistic vibe and balances out with the yellow. Now I have a list of a few of my hobbies. This reveals a lot about me because it shows what kind of things I like to do outside of school. I included this photo of me of me because I think it’s a nice picture and it flows with the rhythm of the slide while also adding contrast to the soft yellow with some bold colors. My slide is very calming in texture yet bold overall.

This is the slide that I created to represent who I am, and it took much adjusting to get it visually pleasing, and to make it understandable at a glance media. I wanted to demonstrate an implied line with the water-line, right where the water meets the trees in the image to the left. I also chose the image because it shows great depth within the space, because my body is centered in the middle-ground and makes it seem like there is a lot more both beyond and in front of me. As well as this, I wanted my body to be highly defined against the trees and water. I then tried to emphasize my use of space by presenting an image on the left of the slide, and large words on a white background to the right. Color was a large aspect of my slide design, because value is seen within the light blue hue of the water, and the dark green hue of the trees. There is also high and low intensity seen, with the contrast of a bright color of the water and a dull color of the trees. This image was the most ideal choice for the slide because it not only highlights my adventurous, care-free attitude, but it also has a strong feeling of texture among the rough-looking trees and splintered wood in the water. I chose to use small black tree drawings to contrast with the real green trees. This same contrast was also shown with the 3-dimensional shapes of the real trees and 2-dimensional shapes of the tree drawings. The real, tall trees also were a great use of form, because it enclosed a great measure of height against a smaller me. Lastly, the quote in bolded, large letters were a key element to the layout, because it emphasized the constant dreamer and explorer in me, just like the image taken of me walking through water. I chose to make the font very large, based on inspiration from the Slide Design for Developers Link. And I made the font color a nice soothing blue to go along with the color of the water. I’m pleased with this draft of my slide, because it uses all the elements of art and still shows who I am. In future edits, I hope to maybe edit the font or colors for more emphasizing. That’s all folks...hope you enjoyed my slide!

I made the slide the way it looks because well, it describes exactly who I am like when I put lines connecting to one big idea which is passion. Also the values of my color is mostly light blue which generally gives a cheery and happy vibe. I added the clouds  and rainbow to show what the inside of my mind is like. I also added the charlie chaplin quote to show that I like to laugh and have a good time because,”A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Also I added shapes that are either rectangular or square to clearly identify what my passions are. The space of the slide is generally positive from having fun playing video games to getting inspiration from playing my sweet trumpet. My endnote is this I just like to get good grades and have fun.

The Slide I made gives an idea about what kind of person I am and associated with. The reason I made the slide the way it is is to grab someone's attention and leave them curious. The slide I made gives people the main idea, but the text adds a bit of curiosity. It gives how I act as a person and why I act these ways, but it gives one big point that just goes untouched. Great advertisements are the ones like movies, they give you a lot of information and a general idea, but there's always more to it. Stuff that's left unsolved that makes you want to see it. In my slide I tried to give that general idea while still focusing of who I am as a person. The way I designed my slide was to have the main attention grabbing statement be the biggest statement and be in a bright color. I also tried to arrange it by rule of threes putting it at the vertex of the top left of the middle quadrant. I also stretched and put my images at the other center vertices drawing attention to them and giving the reader something to look at and piece with the rest of the board. The only things that I wish I could improve upon would be a way for this to be remembered, something to stand out compared to others pieces or designs. The board itself is also to the point where there's to much text on it. If it was simplified keeping only one or at most two parts of the white text then it would be a more simplified board while still hopefully getting my main idea out. The problem with the slide is there is to much going on, If it was the only left half it would be a much better slide and representation with the exception of the text in the bottom left. The left shows the cool style and makes sure my main idea stands out in the biggest font that contrast to the background. The right side is unnecessary and makes the slide look cluttered and unappealing. When I make these projects about myself I regret them and always want to change them, I need to learn to just go through with things.

Before I created my slides, I researched the qualities of an effective slide as well as some common elements of design. There were many elements of design that I tried to include in my presentation.  For one, I tried to use contrast to make the text pop against the background. The bright yellow and white stand out from the darker, cooler green of the background. I also tried to incorporate bleeding. The goldfish, cat, and ice cream all bleed off the slide. I incorporated symmetry with the placement of the christmas lights and text. I used big text to really bring attention to the purpose of the slide, and so it was easy to understand. I wanted to have a lighter color palate so all the colors used are bright or pastels. Next time, I would try and use the rule of 3 more, as well as add more contrast between the pictures and the background. The slide looks kind of messy, so I will use my space more effectively next time.

For my slide, I decided to leave a lot of open space. I think this leaves a good amount of room for interpretation about who I am. This was my intention because there are so many different aspects of my personality and there is no way to describe them all. I wanted my slide to have a light value, but still have contrast. I looked through the different color schemes on colour lovers, which was a sight recommended by Zach Holman who wrote the article about Slide Design for Developers. I wanted to use my favorite colors, so I put a sunset as my background. The sunset gives my whole slide a soft texture. This is also because I love nature. I took the photo myself too, and it shows that I like photography. I used white font for my name, because this created a nice balancing with the black trees bordering the photo. I centered my name so that it was the main focus of the slide. I added the words bold and musical because I believe those are words that describe me very well. At the bottom I made the font a peach color that matches the hues in the sky, creating harmony between the black bordering the sky. I put the words “With a love of art and beauty” at the bottom because I think that describes me in a good way. I love most aspects of art, anywhere from creative writing to singing and much more. As for beauty, I appreciate the beauty in nature but also in other people, and I also care a lot about my appearance.  Overall, I believe that I told a lot about myself in one slide while still making it visually appealing and not overly-congested.

In the more ancient times of football, players like Diego Maradona, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Johan Cruyf, and Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé who is considered the greatest player in the history of football. These players have been considered icons not only for their unmatchable talent on the field but for their stories and inspiration on people with similar lives where things are not given to them. That being said nowadays soccer players still remain the most praised and talked about athletes in the world of sports. However, its for a different reason, players are playing football as a job rather than for passion. As a result, money has began to ruin the world of football, not only for poorer teams, but in the FIFA organization as well.

The debate over the corruption of the football world came to light soon after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.The scandal erupted in May, with a raid on a luxury hotel in Zurich and the arrest of seven Fifa executives. All of this was conducted at the behest of the US authorities and in December, 16 more officials were charged following the arrest of two Fifa vice presidents in at the same hotel in Zurich. Former Brazil football federation chief Ricardo Teixeira was among those accused of being "involved in criminal schemes involving well over $200m (£132m) in bribes and kickbacks". Then in May the US indicted 14 current and former Fifa officials and associates on charges of "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted" corruption following a major inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Fifa is the body responsible for running world football. It has recently been dogged by accusations of corruption, particularly after awarding the 2022 World Cup to the tiny but rich and influential Gulf state of Qatar. This is important to know because it affects the nation’s full of fans who will be expecting their team to perform, however this league simply cannot be trusted due to bribes, and behind the scene deals, no one will know for sure which team really deserves what. Does winning the most praised tournament in the world have the same sensations when you’re able to cheat your way to the top.

Heyo, my name is Nasya. I made my slide look like this because it showed the things I Iike. I have my dog in my slide and my turtle and on the right corner you can see my sister and my dog together. I also added little thing that I like like the unicorn, totoro, ponyo and shiba inu. And in my me magazine I talked about my Youth group also and they are in the top left corner. In my slide I tried to catch people's attention in my slide, I tried added a variety of colors. I also added different sizes in the slide, different fonts, there is also movement in my slide. I was really eager to my this slide because I can show you a little piece of my life.  

“Hmm what do I still need to do today?”

“Ughh, why can’t I think? Hmmmmm.”

“Ohh that’s right, I still need to go food shopping, and I still have to drop that sweater off at Jack’s house, hmmmm homework, laundry, cleaning my room, blaah blaah.”

“Ughh I’m so tired? Why do I always have so much to do,? I just want a break.” (Sigh)

“I'm writing a letter to you (laugh), even though I know you're never going to receive it but I'm just going to update you on the things that have been happening so far In my life. I wish you were here it would've been different, not (hesitates)-hard, I miss you so much you can’t imagine..and-and sophomore year now, uhh it's crazy!”

“The days are flying by so fast. I still remember the day we were applying for middle schools you and I and now here, IN high school already.”

“It sucks, it really does!”

The amount of homework you get! It bothers me that I have such a big responsibility not only in school, but at home as well.

I feel like they think after school from 3:00 to whatever time I go to bed is all for homework,  it isn’t,  I need to take a nice long nap once I get back from school A BREAK and I wake up until really late and then there's all this homework I have to do ughhh

Life and school can be exhausting and being a teenager I know you never got to teenager but it sucks.

They think that I - (hesitate) Well teenagers are soooo bad but really it's not like that being a teenager is just stressful I don't understand what can we do that's so bad when all we want is to take a break it's not like we can go anywhere Where just stressed and want a nap and a break from everything and we have a bunch of homework so we can't do anything anyways

And on top of all of it they never trust you and blame your phone for everything like “I'm hungry” that's because of your phone then they just make you hate yourself for even talking in the first place and TO BE HONEST this is 100% accurate to all teenagers all they really want is a bowl of popcorn and watching Netflix and curled up on the couch with a blanket even when our friends texted us saying hey do you want to hang out “I'm really busy today” But we actually arnt were laying on our bed watching a movie. That's all we really want is a break and for everyone to stop thinking that teenaghers make stupid decsions and are reckless and cannot be trusted. That’s in the movies but in reality it's not true at all more and more reasons why i’m so stressed and don't even get me started on boy problems ughhhh so confusing but so far my day sucks just like every other day so i’m kind of used it and I… (Cut off)

Wooaaahhh! (Shake)

okaaayy…. (Confused/scared feeling)

“probably just a little bump, no big deal”

“I mean they're just a little scared because we weren’t expecting it, Right ?”

(Because everyone looks scared)

“Okayyyy…. Um, what just happened?”

“Why are the lights getting dimmer?” Ahhh (holding on)

Woooaaaaaaahhhh!

“What’s going on?”

“OH MY GOD, What’s happening?”

“What's going on I can’t see anything”

“OH MY, T-Tthe lights are off!”

AHAHHHHHHHH!!!

(people screaming)

“COULD THIS DAY GET ANY WORSE ?!”

(Hyperventilating)

“It stopped” (surprised happy)

“It stopped, it actually stopped”(everybody gets quiet)

(Banging)

They're going to save us they are

(low) they are

I guess a day could get a little better (smiles)

(small laugh)

Make sure you call me when you get home. I don’t know why you didn’t let my mom drive you,Said my friend.

It’s cool, and I’ll call you as soon as my foot touches my front step. I promise.

Before I locked my phone, I saw the red low battery at the top of my screen. 20 percent. Why the hell didn’t I charge my phone when I had a chance to. Now it’s about to die, and I need to get home. I just need to walk past the Mcdonald's on Oregon Avenue to get the G bus. The only thing is, I don’t know where I am now. This is actually my first time on this side of South Philly. I never stay out this late. Especially in unknown neighbourhoods, I should know better than that. At least I had fun, I haven’t seen my friends in a long time. They do say, time goes faster when you’re having fun, right? 18 percent.The street signs blended into the darkness of the night. I couldn’t even read the letters. It took me minute or so to realize I was about 8 blocks down from where I needed to be. Great. If I had charged my phone I could use siri, but I need to preserve as much battery as I can. I need to think more, mom would kill me if she knew I let my phone die like this. Speaking of, let me tell her I am on my way home.

Hey mom, everything is all good. I am heading home now, ttyl.

I hope she replies before my phone dies.

Where are you? Said my mom, her text message lit up my phone. Almost as a beacon, for my journey ahead.

I'm heading toward 12th and Oregon to catch the bus now, I have to walk through a few neighborhoods.

She replied, Ok be careful. Please call when you get on the bus.

11 percent.

Oh wow, I walked four blocks already? This isn’t so bad. The streetlights on this side of the street are getting dimmer though, so I should probably cross over.

Hey you nigger! Get out of our neighborhood, before we have to force you out. Your kind isn’t welcomed around here.  

Who is he talking to? He isn’t talking to me right? Is there anyone else walking besides me? I turned a round, and saw a group of tall men on the corner of a pub. They’re probably drunk.

Yeah keep on, somebody watch her and make sure she doesn’t disappear into the night.

Are I would have never thought of hearing this outside of a Hollywood Movie!  I thought of saying something, but my body kept moving forward. He really just called me that. So much for times have changed, “We Are the World” bullcrap! You know what, why don’t I say something back? I’ll shut him down real quick. I tried to gather the words to say, but my mind blocked me from putting them together. My brain was like an intense game of scrabble. Why couldn’t I twist words off the tip of my tongue, and hurt this man’s pride like he did mine? The word kept repeating in my mind, like a broken record in a way taunting me.  WHY COULDN’T I SAY ANYTHING! I realized, I could never stoop down that low. To judge someone for something they cannot change, is not who I am. The difference between him and I is

Ignorance.

I’m not even gonna give this racist the time of day. The bus stop is right down the block. To avoid this, I’ll just hurry along before this escalates. I hear a commotion, are they following me? I’m already on my way, Leave me alone! There goes the bus, I need to run. Running seems like the only way to escape the harassment. I ran to the bus, swiped my pass and I smiled to my bus driver. I pulled out my phone to text my mom, 5 percent.

Mom, I’m on the bus. Man do I have a story to tell you.

“What? What? I’m up mommy! I’m up”

“What do you mean get dressed?”

(Looks at the clock)

“Mom it’s 12 in the morning. Where the hell are we going? Why the hell are we going to my uncle’s house?”

“Ok give me 5 minutes”

(Gets in the car)

“Mom, I have school tomorrow...well, later.”

“Yes!”

“Mommy! Are you crying?”

“Oh okay. I thought you were crying.”

She was definitely crying, right? No. Mommy is always happy, mommy is always smiling. She’s never sad.

“Hey uncle Aziz!”

“I’m good how are you?”

“Where’s Massawa?”

“Oh okay. Is he going to school tomorrow?”

“Aww man.”

“Okay. I think I'm going to sleep now, I’m really tired. Goodnight!”

“Wait why are we going to Eritrea?”

“OK.”

“Why are they yelling?”

“Ok, Ok!”

“Bye daddy!”

“Mommy. Where are we going?”

“What do you mean we’re going to Eritrea?”

“Mommy, it’s january, I have school, not that I want to go, I’m just reminding you that the summer hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Okay! Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah I have everything.”

“Wait why are we going to Eritrea?”

“Ohhhh Okay.”

“I know a lot about our culture. I know about Jesus christ, I know how to speak Tigrinya, I know injera, I know everything.”

“Now we’re going to eat injera everyday in Eritrea!”

“Yeah, I really like injera.”

“Grandma makes the best injera!”

(silence)

“Is daddy coming with us?”

“Why not?”
“Is he sick?”

“Is he going to go with us on our other vacations”

“Will he come visit us?”

“When are we coming back?”

“Mommy, I have school though.”

“I have to take the PSSA, and in fourth grade, we take English, Math, Science, and writing, so I have to take them.”

“Mommy, I don’t want to go to school in Eritrea!”

“I don’t know how to speak Tigrinya that good.”

“Mommy, why can’t daddy go to Eritrea with us?”

“He can work in Eritrea too.”
“Why are you crying?”

“Yes you are!”

“Mommy, I’m so confused.”

“What is happening?”

“So why are you crying if we’re going to Eritrea? Don’t you like Eritrea? All of your family live there. You should be happy!”

“Ohh, tears of joy!”

“I was so confused!”

“Haha, ok I understand now.”

(gets on airplane)

“Mommy, can I sit on the big massage chair.”

“Aww man!”

“Can I sit next to the window?”

“Yes!”

“Ok. Can I watch a movie first.”

“Just one then I promise I’ll sleep.”

“Thank you mommy.”

(gets off airplane and gets his bag)

“Grandma!”

“I missed you so much!”

“Uncle Hagos! Aunt Hiyab!”

“I’m good.”

“Where are Nigisti and Michael?”

“Yeah I remember them. Nigisti, Michael, Massawa, Russam, and Saba are my favorite cousins!”

“I can’t wait to see them!”

(gets in the car and is on his way to the house.)

“Hi, how are you?”

“Hey what’s up?”

“How’s it going?”

“There are so many people here!”

“Haha.”

“Yeah, I was planning on sleeping in a little bit anyway, but since tomorrow is Saturday, can I play with Russam and the others?”

“Thanks mommy!”

“Ok goodnight!”

“Goodmorning mommy!”

“Mommy, where’s my toothbrush?”

“Ok thanks.”

“Good Morning Michael!”

“Let’s go get Nigisti, Russam, and Saba so we can play tag!”

“Ok I’ll go tell Russam!”

“Russam!”

“Oh I think I hear him in that room!”

(Listening to his mother, aunts, uncles, and grandparents taking in the room)

“No way!”

“Nah ah!”

“A divorce!”

“Wait does that mean I won’t ever see daddy again?”

“Is that why mommy was crying?”

“Is that why we came to Eritrea?”

“Does daddy not love me and mommy anymore?”

“Why a divorce?”

“Am I ever going to see my dad again?”