Striving For Normality

“Do you need help?”

I have been hearing variations of this question for as long as I can remember. I hear it from my teachers, I hear it from my parents, and sometimes I even hear  from complete strangers. They don’t say it, but I can tell that they pity me. After all of these years, it doesn’t phase me anymore. I guess I’ve just come to accept the fact that I’m not like everyone else. Questions like this have become a part of me that I can’t seem to shake, making me question if I am competent enough to live a regular life. I have listened to the doubts of others for too long, and have adopted them as my own.

Every morning when I wake up, I roll out of bed and take a look in the mirror, hoping that the disaster that I call my life was all just a bad dream. But that’s never the case. All I ever see is failure staring back at me; failure to be good enough for the people I care about, failure to change their opinions of me, and most of all, failure to love myself.

I can almost never go unnoticed. Everywhere I go, people stare, thanking G-d for not making them or anyone they care about like me. Honestly, if I was in their position, I would do the same.

I have grown to accept my situation, as well as the fact that there is nothing I can do to change it. I accept that this is the way things are, but I still hate it.

I wish I was like everyone else; never the center of attention, never getting special treatment, and most of all, just being treated like a normal person. Unfortunately, I have lost faith that this will ever be the case. It’s simply not possible for someone like me in today’s society.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many benefits to my situation. I always am allowed first entry into events, I get my own personal restroom everywhere I go, I always have an available parking spot, and many other things that sound great.

But no matter how great the benefits may be, I would give all of them up for a chance to walk, even if it was only for one day. I roll through the streets and dream about what this sensation would be like. I would die for the opportunity to experience this, without hesitation.

So when people who are walking down the street stop to ask me if I need help, all I can do is look down and accept their offer, hoping that maybe someday I won’t get special treatment, that maybe someday I won’t be the center of attention, that maybe someday I will be treated like any other person would be.

After all of these years of figuring out who I am, I am still left with one question. Why? Why, G-d? Why did you have to make me like this?

Introduction:

In this essay, I will discuss three strengths of mine that I believe affect my personality and my relationships the most. In the next three paragraphs, I will go into depth about each of these strengths. Hopefully, by sharing these strengths, you will gain a better understanding of me as a person and as a thinker.

Rational:

I believe that being rational is one of my greatest and most useful traits. Being rational allows me to make decisions that are backed by solid reasoning, as well as be logical in situations that require as much. It also helps me manage my time and estimate how long something is going to take. If I was not a rational person, I would have a much harder time managing my life on a daily basis.

Straightforward:

Being straightforward with myself and with my peers is a great strength to have. It allows me to give high-quality and realistic feedback to people when they ask for it. I am able to communicate more clearly with people because of it, and I can back up claims with factual information. I also do not sugar-coat things. I say things as they are because white lies will not change anything, they will only delay finding the solution to an issue.

Hard Working:

Out of all of my strengths, I believe that being hard working is my greatest strength. Because I have a good work ethic, I am able to get work done efficiently and to the best of my ability without spending too much time on each task. When it comes to something that I am interested in, I dedicate a lot of time to it and push myself as hard as I can. I hope to learn to do this when it comes to things that I am not interested in much.

Conclusion:

I feel like these three strengths will influence my time in CTE Digital Video a lot. I think they will allow me to get an interesting and unique perspective on what we will be doing in class, as well as allow me to take away more from each lesson that is taught. Overall, I hope that these strengths positively impact my time in CTE Digital Video and continue to progress and help develop me into a better person.

Ari Burstein

English: Ms. Pahomov

Gold Stream

E-Band

September 21, 2018

Word Count: 688

Beep Beep, Beep Beep. Beep Beep, Beep Beep. I turn off my alarm and slowly roll out of bed. Nine o’clock is too early to be getting up on a summer morning, I think to myself as I pull up my black jeans. I go to the bathroom and splash my face with water. I get ready quickly, and I’m out the door by 9:35. I unlock my bike and get ready to head towards 19th and Market, where I will be working for the summer. Marathon Grill. I wonder what it will be like as I begin my three-and-a-half mile trek from West Philly.  

I am full of excitement as I try and anticipate the day ahead of me. Although being a busboy isn’t the most glorious job, it will be a good learning experience for me, as well as a way to make some money. I can’t wait.

I get to my Marathon Grill at 9:53 A.M.; 7 minutes early. I take a few moments debating whether or not I should go in early and decide I should. As I walk in, I sense the other employees notice my aura of nervousness.

“Are you Ari?” an older woman says from the Employees Only door.

“Yes,” I reply uneasily.

“Hi, I’m Cheryl. Have you ever worked in a restaurant before?” she says as she hands me a black shirt with a neon green M on it, the Marathon Grill Logo.

“I have not,” I respond unsure of what this would mean for me.

“Poppa,” the woman yells into the kitchen, “I need you to train someone.”

A few seconds later a burly man comes out. He is about 6’1 with a trimmed beard and dark skin. I shake his hand. It is rough, calloused by many years of manual labor.

“My name is Poppa,” he says with a thick Haitian accent, “In the next hour, I am going to train you to be a busboy.”

The next hour consisted of me following Poppa around and learning about the tasks that were required of me and how to do them. I changed the trash bags, filled up each serving station with ice, wiped down tables, and cleared dishes. By 11:00 I had a pretty solid understanding of my role in the restaurant. Now I am ready to go off on my own.

“You will be in charge of bussing the outdoor tables and keeping them clean,” Poppa says.

I nod at him and prepare for the onrush of lunch customers. I walk around, inspecting each table to make sure they are clean. I walk back to the bussing station as the flow of people starts to increase.

The day goes on, and I do my job well. I am amazed by how smoothly everything runs, from the kitchen, to the food-runners, to the waiters, and finally to the busboys. Everyone has a role to play. Two o’clock comes by. I clock-out and begin to bike home.

When I get home I take a long, hot shower. Warm water rolls slowly down my tired body. I feel relaxed. After the shower, I go to my room to watch American Horror Story.

“Ari,” I hear someone saying faintly, “Ari, wake up.”

I open my eyes to see my dad standing over me. I must have fallen asleep.

“What time is it?” I ask my dad in a flustered manner.

“It’s almost six o’clock,” he replies. “It’s time for dinner. We’re going to SangKee.”

We get to SangKee and are seated rather quickly. However, I can’t help but look at the restaurant with a different perspective. I watch the waiters taking orders and the runners taking food out from the kitchen. I see the hostess seating people and the busboys clearing tables. I now have a greater appreciation for those who I took for granted before.

We finish our meal, and my father gets the check. As we begin to leave, I get $3 from my pocket and leave it on the table.

My element is Hydrogen. Its atomic number is 1, its atomic symbol is H, and its atomic weight is 1.00794u. Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. It is a gas and is the fuel for stars that are in a plasma state. Hydrogen is one of the elements that make up carbohydrates, and it is also an important component in water.

I got the idea of making a star for my print design while I was researching my element. Hydrogen is the fuel for stars, so I thought it would be fitting for a star to be my design. I had to incorporate the atomic number and symbol, so I decided that I would put the atomic symbol, H, inside the star. I drew the H in one-point perspective and I drew the atomic number, 1, under the star.

The process of making this print took me a while. I first had the idea of making drops of water on my print due to Hydrogen’s role in making up water. I then decided to go with a star design instead. When drawing the print onto the styrofoam stencil, I initially drew my design on regularly which was a mistake. I then turned over the stencil and redrew my design backwards, so that it would show up regularly on the print.

If I were to do this project again, I would probably try and create a more complicated design in order to challenge myself. My favorite part of the printmaking process was using the rollers to cover my styrofoam stencil in paint so that I could press it onto my paper to make the print. I enjoyed this because it was a simple process, yet it ended up making beautiful pieces of art. It was very cool to see. Hopefully I will be given the opportunity to do this again sometime in the future.

A. Negative space is the space that is around an object in an image. It helps define the borders of positive space, and brings balance to parts and elements of an image.

B. I found negative space in my cutout by searching for the area that is a boundary to the positive space, and it was the inverse of the positive space.

• It helps an artist to see in negative space so that they can see both sides of an image, and use the negative space as a tool for their artwork. 
  

C. Seeing in negative space enhances drawing because the negative space makes the image pop out to the viewer, and can help those viewers see a different aspect of that piece of art.

After presenting my original slide, I was given a lot of constructive criticism. The critique that I heard the most was that my background was distracting and did not make my text pop out to the viewer. I was also told that the font of the quote was confusing and hard to read. I was praised however, on the concept of my slide, and how I used thirds. I was encouraged to change the size of my quote, so it could take up more of the slide and minimize unused space.

In the remix of my slide, there were multiple changes from my first slide. The largest difference between my first and second slides, was the opacity of the background image. In my second slide, the background is much more transparent, directing the viewer’s eyes towards the text, and not details in the background. I also changed the font from Indie Flower to Oswald. I believe that these changes helped bring my slide focus.

The research that I gathered pushed me to use the thirds concept and natural lines in my background and slide. Also, I incorporated something I learned from presentation zen, which was to limit the amount of information on my slide. I used the sites that were provided on canvas to format and design my slide. Overall, I am proud of both my original and new slide.

Good morning everybody. Today I will be presenting my tech slide. Although there is not much on the slide, I believe you can learn a lot about me from it. I’ll start off with the background. It is an image of a wrestling gym. A reason that I chose this image because it shows the side of me that is a wrestler. But on a more meaningful level, this image portrays a part of me that less people get to see. It shows that when I set my mind to something, I can accomplish it, no matter what it is. That is a wrestling mindset.

I chose the layout of the slide for multiple reasons. One of them was the contrast of the colors. I love the color combination of yellow and black, and I thought it would make the slide pop-out to the viewer. Another reason was that there were lines running through it, and my research said that that would put the image into focus.

The quote represents one of the main things I stand for. The quote reads, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” The person who said the quote is Josh Keitt, one of my wrestling coaches who is also the Athletic Director at CAPA. The quote, along with inspiring me, also portrays how I participate in topics that I am passionate about. If I set a goal for myself, I will spend countless hours working to achieve it. This applies not only to wrestling, but my entire life.

Thank you all for listening and have a great Thanksgiving Weekend!