Recipe- Cauliflower & Cheese

Ingredients-

• ½ Cauliflower

• Block of Cheddar Cheese

• ½ cup of Milk

• Teaspoon of Salt

• Dash of Pepper(optional)

• 3 cups of water

Directions-

1. Pour 3 cups of water into pot and add a dash of salt.

2. Cut up cauliflower and boil it in pot for 5 min.

3. After done boiling place cauliflower in water strainer.

4. Pour ½ cup of milk into glass or microwavable bowl.

5. Cut up block of cheddar cheese and place it into bowl. Then add salt and pepper.

6. Add cauliflower in glass bowl and then place it in the microwave for 2 min.

7. Take it out and stir. Then put it back it for 1 ½ min more or until you think it’s done.

8. Ready to eat!

   Analysis-
   

   This recipe in my family is supposed to be a healthy substitute for Macaroni & cheese (cauliflower replaces macaroni). The main ingredients includes Cauliflower, Cheddar Cheese, and Milk which are all whole foods depending on the brand. Vegetables and non-homogenized dairy products all count as whole foods according to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Since most of the foods in this dish are whole foods it’s considered a healthier recipe. 1 cup of Cauliflower is about 25 calories, has 2 grams of sugar, and no fat. 1 ounce of Cheddar Cheese which is less healthy has about 115 calories, 0.1 grams of sugar, and 9.6 grams of fat. ½ a cup of milk is about 52 calories, has 13 grams of sugar, and 2.4 grams of fat. Although this meal may be healthier than regular Mac & cheese eating it all the time would not be healthy because of all the cheese and milk.

   The Cauliflower we buy at whole foods is about $3.99 per head, while the cheddar cheese is $3.60 per block, and 2% milk is $2.50. The salt and pepper is about $1.99 each, so the total cost of the meal is about $14.07 in total. This obviously costs a lot more than regular mac & cheese you could get at a fast food restaurant like KFC or popeyes which is about $1.99. Compared to fast food though our recipe is lot healthier, tastes better because it’s homemade, and isn’t too expensive if you ration or save it. We usually get our food at whole foods which is a big corporation. The cauliflower we buy comes from braga farms which is a small family owned farmed which grows organic vegetables. The cheese comes from the cooperation sargento and the milk is a whole foods brand called 365 everyday value. These businesses big or small were involved in producing these foods, and although I don’t really trust big corporations, but  they do say they are FDA approved and organic.

5 min of Science: Sharks, Snakes, and Spiders

For my 5 minutes of science presentation I decided to focus on the fear we have of certain animals, why we have them, and how they negatively impact our society. I came up with this topic after thinking about when we learned why people think babies are cute. Humans are programmed to think certain traits like big eyes, small noses, and mouths are cute compared to the opposite of those traits. If we know why humans think certain things are cute then when do they think certain things are scary?

I specifically focused on sharks, spiders, and snakes which are three animals that many people fear and even have phobias of. Many species of sharks, for example, are top of the food chain predators with razor sharp teeth and a lust for blood. It’s pretty easy to imagine why someone would be scared of an animal like this because of how dangerous they appear, but they really aren’t at all. Sharks on Average kill 10 people per year and statistically people have a 1 in 3,748,067 chance of getting bitten by a shark according to the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. Compare this to an estimated 100 million sharks who are killed annually by humans due to overfishing, and bycatch according to the World Wildlife Organization. Snakes are another commonly feared animal which have a 1 in 35,700 chance of biting a person in the U.S. and a 1 in 50 million chance of killing them. Although they do kill and injure more people than sharks, snakes are still apart of a billion dollar snakeskin industry because of humans. Lastly, spiders are one of people's biggest phobias, but on average only kill 6.5 people per year. As you can see these animals kill few too many people for us to be afraid of them.

According to David Ropeik of Harvard University, the reason people are afraid of sharks isn’t because of how many people die, but because of how terrible a death it would be to get eaten alive by a shark. Movies and media like Jaws, Sharknado, and Shark week all base their entertainment off of the grizzly deaths of humans which show sharks as evil killing machines. When we see these depictions of sharks everywhere we actually think this is how we could die if we ran into one even though it is very unlikely. Ropeik also says that humans are hardwired to feel first and think second which is why they are scared of sharks. We also use mental shortcuts like the availability heuristic which uses recent information to make a decision. People jump to conclusions before figuring out a situation, so if something brushes up against your leg in the water you will assume the worst.

When it comes to snakes and spiders we fear them because we are programmed to. Like babies and puppies have features that we think are cute, snakes and spiders have features that we think are the opposite. For example, the number of legs an animal legs is a feature people judge. Spiders have 8 legs while snakes have none and as a result both are thought of as both scary and disgusting. Another reason we are afraid of snakes is because we as a humans have evolved to fear snacks in order to survive and reproduce. Researchers from The Academy of Natural Sciences have found that some neurons in the brain only respond to legless animals. This means people are easily able to spot a snakes compared to other objects surrounding them. This results in a fear and paranoia of snakes because we are more aware of them compared to other animals/objects.

The reason our fear of certain animals matters to our society is because of the result it may have on us. Unfortunately, many animals are becoming endangered and even extinct because of climate change, poaching, deforestation, and overall killing of animals. As I said before sharks are being killed by the millions every year. We do not know how many are left because of the little information we have on the ocean, but they could possibly be endangered. It’s easy not to care about a predator like shark, but the fact is that they are very important to our ecosystem. Since some of them are top of the food chain predators they are able to keep the ecosystem in balance by eating both prey and smaller predators. If enough sharks die the ocean’s ecosystem will suffer due to overpopulation of other animals. Snakes are also being killed by the snakeskin industry which us them for purses, bags, shoes, belts, etc. The killing of these animals and misconceptions we teach others will contribute to poor ecosystem, and will ruin our environment even more. We need to stop fearing creatures that should really be afraid of us.

Sharks are one my favorite animals so this topic was very important to me because I think it’s unfair how we label them as dangerous. Some of them, like the whale shark, don’t even eat meat and even the ones that do are still not a threat to humans. I can still understand why someone would be scared of a shark, especially someone who has been attacked before. Spiders on the other hand I am very scared of, especially for their legs. Despite my fear, I still think they shouldn’t be labeled as dangerous because of the low number of people they kill and the good they do for the ecosystem. All animals and organisms are an important part of our ecosystem and play a part in keeping it in balance, so I think it’s a bad idea to teach people certain ones are “dangerous”.

Sources

Andrew, E. (2016). Why Are We Afraid Of Spiders? Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://www.iflscience.com/brain/why-are-we-afraid-spiders/

Shark. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/shark

Moskowitz, C. (n.d.). Why We Fear Snakes - Live Science. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/2348-fear-snakes.html

Zimmer, C. (2013, October 31). Afraid of Snakes? Your Pulvinar May Be to Blame - The New ... Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/science/afraid-of-snakes-your-pulvinar-may-be-to-blame.html

Palermo, E. (2015, July 16). Why Are People So Afraid of Sharks? - Live Science. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/51579-fear-of-sharks-psychology.html

5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, the Shark. (2016). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-news/5-reasons-revere-not-fear-shark

(n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/venomous_snake_faqs.shtml

“She what?” I said. I needed to hear it again. It just couldn’t be true.

“Uuuuh… I think Quiyamah is the one who stole your mom’s ring…” Anna repeated.

“Where would you get that idea?” I said in disbelief.

“Well she’s told me about … how she’s stolen things from your house before.”

“What?!” I was shocked. There was no way she could’ve done this. She’s pulled a lot of shit on me but never this foolish.

“Yeah like some of your jewelry and makeup.” She said.

I had lost some jewelry before and just thought I had misplaced it. I can be pretty forgetful sometimes so it was pretty easy to convince myself that. I also never thought my best friend, since kindergarden would do something like this to me.

“Well- why didn’t you tell me in the first place!?” I asked. I was furious with her for not telling me, but part of me still questioned her story altogether, so I kept interrogating her for the rest of lunch.

“I’m sorry! I really am. I should’ve told you… “ Anna looked upset and disappointed in herself, but I didn’t know if this was genuine or not. At this point I didn’t know what to believe.

“ Makeup is one thing, but your mom’s ring? I can’t keep lying about this.” She said. I couldn’t believe she lied to me. I thought I would have at least one friend that stood by my side but I guess I was wrong.

“Why would she do this, or even think she could get away with this?” I asked in a fiery voice.

“ Well... she said it was easy because you were too naive and trusting to notice anything.” Anna said.

Well that stung. It was like someone punching me in the heart. I could feel the tears in my eyes and I tried to hold them back. I took a deep breath.

“I’m really sorry. I should’ve told you.” Anna kept repeating. We sat in silence for a few minutes. We were sitting alone at one of the lunch tables at the time, but I checked to see if any of the other 8th graders heard us. I looked over at Quiyamah’s table to see if she noticed us. Fortunately, she seemed distracted enough by her friend Marie to notice us talking.

“Well what should I do now?” I said feeling bitterly defeated.

“I think…” She paused. “Maybe you should tell your mom.”

I thought about it for a few minutes. Part of me agreed with going and telling my mom, but I was also scared to. What was I even going to say? That one of my best friends since kindergarten had been stealing from my house, and another friend knew and didn’t tell me  about it? I didn’t know if I could bring myself to do it, but at this point I had no other choice.

“After school.” I stated. “We will go to my mom’s office after school and tell her.”

Getting through the rest of that school day was awful. I thought I was going to cry, but honestly I was still in shock. I counted down every minute until 3:00 o’clock knowing I would finally be out of school only be trapped in my mom’s office where I would have tell the truth.

Once our teacher dismissed us from school, I went over to Anna making sure not to bump into Quiyamah or any of my other so called “friends”. We quickly left the school, but instead of going to my house we walked to my mom’s office which was in Penn campus.

While we were heading over I was texting my mom informing her that Anna and I  would be over to tell her about the stolen ring. I told her that we thought it was Quiyamah and that we would tell her more when we got over. While that was going on Anna was giving me more details on what she knew about Quiyamah’s past thefts. My mood became more upbeat when Anna and I planned out what we were going to say to my mom. I felt like we had a whole secret plan, and that maybe everything was going to turn out okay. At this point I was in too much disbelief to be upset so I started to just laugh the situation we were in.

The closer we got to my mom’s office the more anxious I felt, so by the time we got to her door I wanted to run back home. Once I finally forced myself to knock on the door we heard a voice “come in” in a somewhat serious, but affectionate tone. Anna and I let ourselves in to find my mother on her computer focused on her writing, papers covering her desk.

We stood their for a few second as she kept typing on her computer. She looked up.

“So...What happened?”

We told her everything . I did most of the talking, but Anna would speak up every once in while. I could tell she was frightened by my mother at this point who sat their with a very grim look on her face.

Once we stopped my mom took a deep breath and said “I have a class I have to teach in a few minutes. You join me downstairs, and then we will figure this out afterwards. Is that okay?” We nodded.

For the next few hours we sat in the middle of my mom’s classroom as they discussed if rich people should be obligated to give to others in need. It kept me distracted, but not enough to get rid of the anxiety I was feeling at the moment. After the class she took us back upstairs to get her things.

“Were going to your mom’s house now, “ she said to Anna sternly. “I think she needs to know what’s going on too.”

Anna’s mom was known for being an incredibly strict and tough mother so when wasn’t surprised that she was yelling loud enough at Anna for the whole street to hear. Although I have to admit I was still quite scared myself. My mom noticed how scared and upset I looked so she put her arm around me.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I lied. She knew it too.

We went back to our house leaving a sad looking Anna with her mom. My mom called my dad and told him about it, then Quiyamah’s mom.

“I just called your father, and we decided we are going to invite Anna, Quiyamah, and her mother over to figure out what’s going on. We’re going to try to get Quiyamah to confess too, okay?” She said. She looked me dead in the eyes. “You realize how angry I am about this right?”

“Yes.” I said.

“Okay, I love you very much .” She said.

“I love you too, mom.” I said.

That night proceeded to be one of the worst nights of my life. My mom, dad, Anna, Quiyamah, and Quiyamah’s mom decided to come over our house and figure out what was going on. The whole time I just sat their silently with my head down, half listening to the conversation, half of my brain in a completely different world. It wasn’t until my mom asked me what if any of my stuff had gone missing that I started talking, and even then I was a sputtering mess, and on the verge of tears.

Quiyamah never actually confessed to stealing my mother’s ring. My mom knew it because we noticed it was gone right after Quiyamah left my house, and my mom NEVER misplaces anything. She never confessed to taking any of my stuff either. In the end I didn’t really know what happened, but I knew Quiyamah wasn’t a good friend. She has lied, used, and talked behind my back before so I felt as though it was a sign once I found out about this situation. The only thing I regretted about the end of our friendship was not telling her off when I had the chance.

Chloë Epstein

8/11/15

Air

Homophobia and Masculinity

In the United States, it is acceptable and common for a woman to be very intimate around her friends. She feels comfortable enough to hug, sit close, and talk about her feelings and emotions with them. But what about men? Do men feel the same way about their male friends, or even family members? Many experts say no, because of the combination of hyper masculinity and homophobia that men learn starting at a very young age. Men’s fear of homosexuality results in an obsession with masculinity and avoidance of any type of physical or emotional behavior with other men.  

Professor and sociologist Michael S. Kimmel stated, “The great secret American manhood is: We are afraid of other men.” What he means by this statement is that men tend to be afraid of being judged by other men, specifically when it comes to their masculinity. Men will do anything to avoid being seen as feminine whether they want to be or not. A significant way men distance themselves from femininity is through homophobia. Gay men are stereotypically seen as feminine, and therefore more submissive. Therefore, straight men need to prove they are not feminine by distancing themselves from their feelings/ emotions, and even making fun of men who are more emotional. For example, a man will call another man a “sissy” when he acts in feminine ways; they will also use the word “faggot” in the same way. Another example is the phrase “no homo,” which is used after one man says or does something emotional to another man. A man can’t even express his own emotions, or he might be labeled as gay. If a man expresses his emotions, he is seen as feminine, and if he is feminine then he must be gay.

On June 28, 2000, James Dale lost his fight in the Supreme Court against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), who had fired Dale from being a Boy Scout leader because they found out he was a homosexual. It took nearly 15 years for the Boy Scouts to change their policies on Gay Boy scout leaders. Within the Girl Scouts, a homosexual leader, or scout’s experience would be much different. The Girls Scout of the USA allow homosexual scouts, leaders, and now even transgender people can be a part of their organization. One reason that the Girl Scouts is more accepting of homosexuality is that Girl Scouts, Inc. owns the organization, while the Boy Scouts is funded by nonprofit organizations such as churches and Christian groups. Another reason why the BSA is less tolerant is that the organization is afraid its scouts will be exposed to homosexuality, which will is assumed to lower their masculinity. One reason why the Girl Scouts is much more progressive is that it’s more acceptable for girls to express themselves, including when it comes to their sexuality or others’ sexuality. According to the BSA, by having a gay leader or mentor boys are taught to be more feminine, which eventually leads to the scouts “turning” gay.

Male friends have always been known to be less intimate than females. Once a boy becomes a teenager, holding hands or hugging another man becomes taboo. Even at a young age, boys start to feel ashamed or uncomfortable for platonically touching another boy. Part of the reason for this shame is how boys are raised. Many boys are raised to be “tough” or to have little emotion. This approach leads to many boys feeling that they can’t express themselves. According to Mark Greene, editor of The Good Men Project, “By the time they are approaching puberty, many boys have learned to touch only in aggressive ways through rough housing or team sports.” For example, in sports such as football and wrestling, boys can show physical contact but only through violence instead of care. Parents teach their sons that they have to express themselves through violence or they aren’t real men. That is why being compared to a gay man is seen so negatively; gay men aren’t seen as real men.

Besides being afraid of each other, men also don’t trust each other. U.S. culture has taught men that they don’t know how to control themselves, specifically when it comes their sexual urges. Although it’s women who usually experience this behavior from men, what’s to say that a man couldn’t control his urges around another man too? A new study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, people who are homophobic tend to also have some attraction to the same sex. Men will act reserved and homophobic to prove to themselves and others that they aren’t homosexual themselves. "Sometimes people are threatened by gays and lesbians because they are fearing their own impulses," said professor Richard Ryan, author of this experiment. Men don’t trust themselves or other men to engage in physical and emotional contact because it could result in them being sexually attracted to other men. Masculinity is so fragile that men are scared of their own sexuality, whether they are gay, or not.

Growing up, boys are taught that masculinity is their most important attribute and they use this masculinity to prove that they are worthy of being called a man. Although women are expected to be somewhat feminine, their respect doesn’t rely on it. Homosexuality is a threat to a man’s masculinity, which it why so many men in the U.S. grow up homophobic.

Work cited:

1. Kimmel, Michael. "Masculinity as Homophobia." Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://faculty.ucc.edu/psysoc-stokes/masculinity.pdf>.

2. Bixby, Scott. "There's One Huge Lesson the Boy Scouts Need to Learn From the Girl Scouts." Mic. 23 July 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://mic.com/articles/122704/the-one-huge-lesson-the-girl-scouts-can-teach-the-boy-scoutsn>.

3. Greene, Mark. "Touch Isolation: How Homophobia Has Robbed All Men Of Touch -." The Good Men Project. 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/megasahd-touch-isolation-how-homophobia-has-robbed-men-of-touch/>.

4. Greene, Mark. "The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men's Lives Is a Killer -." The Good Men Project. 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/megasahd-the-lack-of-gentle-platonic-touch-in-mens-lives-is-a-killer/>.

Freeman, David. "Homophobes Gay? Study Ties Anti-Gay Outlook To Homosexuality, Authoritarian Parenting." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/homophobia-homosexuality-gay_n_1412846.html>.

God I hate uniforms. School, sports, work, all of them. No matter what kind they are, they always make you feel like shit. And I’m wearing the worst kind right now; Military. Ugh, I don’t what’s worse, the skin tight under suit riding up your ass or the heaving armor weighing you down, but in the end I always feel so… confined. Anyways right now I’m stuck in vertical line formation between Tomoko and Ares, both half asleep just like me. I think every soldier is right now but I can’t tell because, again, i’m half asleep. We’re all waiting for our commander who thinks making us get up at the crack of dawn and standing in line waiting for him is good for us. And y’know what maybe it is. Maybe it will help us become better soldiers in the long run. Or better people in general. But I don’t care because Getting up in the morning is the worst thing ever.

All the 3 other soldier walk through our line formation and what do ya know it’s Commander Osamu. Or a just some big blobs that decide to walk around. Again i can’t tell because I’M HALF ASLEEP. Commander Osamu walks toward us to check if we’re all in position. Everyone is dead silent, because our Commander is basically godzilla reincarnated. I’m not even kidding he scares the shit out of me.

I see Tomoko falling asleep on my arm, so I nudge her.

“Bean buns… “ She says softly. She’s in the middle of a dream. I’m guessing it’s about bean buns. And food. And eating. Mmm… Bean buns.

Out of no where I feel a hard slap across my head.

“ Private Mizuki, and Tomoko! Wake up!” A male voice says. I open my eyes to find an angry looking Commander Osamu staring at us. Dammit I feel asleep. Both Tomoko and scrambled into position, with our backs straight and our arms behind us locked together. I look around, and see the other soldiers with their red snickering faces. Then I looked at Commander Osamu, who is staring at us with big dead eyes of distrust. When he does this, and he does it a lot, it’s like he’s trying to you figure out. The worst part is I think he does. It’s super creepy.

“Everyone Shut up!” He barks. Everyone then shut up. “How many times do I have to get you people to wake the hell up! I don’t care what excuse you have, I don’t care if it’s hard. Just stay awake and do what you’re told!” He then turns over to use so quickly, we don’t even have time to blink. “I want you two on patrol right now.” He said softly.

“ But, but...Bean Buns sir!” We blurt out. The struggle of hunger is real right now.

“Oh my god, just do it!” He says annoyed.

“Yessir” So Tomoko and I run off to patrol, wearing uncomfortable clothing, half asleep, and dreaming of bean buns.

S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders is a book about a boy named Ponyboy who is apart of a gang called the Greasers. Through symbolism, the main character in the book sees his true potential and how he should never lose who he is. But, in an environment where crime runs rampant, and discrimination between gangs is the norm it turns out to be harder to stay the person he wants to be most in life.

During one scene in the book (Pg 77) Ponyboy recites a poem to Johnny. Neither of them get what it means, until Johnny says ”Stay gold, ponyboy, stay gold…” on his death bed to Ponyboy (Pg 148). At first Ponyboy has know idea what he was talking about, until he receives an old letter from Johnny in his Gone with the Wind book. Johnny wrote it before he died. It explains what he thinks the poem meant, and what he meant by “stay gold”. One interpretation  behind this quote was to stay who you are no matter what pushes you not to be. Johnny believed in Ponyboy, that he could always be himself, that he would never be changed by all these outside forces. Every moment of our lives are precious, and we shouldn't waste them being someone else because of the unsatisfying circumstances we may live in.

After finding out Cherry has become a “spy” for the greasers, Ponyboy is in shock wondering why Cherry would do such a thing. “No, it wasn’t cherry the soc who was helping, it was Cherry the dreamer who watched sunsets, and couldn’t stand fights. It was hard to believe a soc would help us, even a Soc who dug sunsets. “ This quote really got to me because it brought up a recurring topic in the story; sunsets. Throughout the book certain characters, especially ponyboy talk about sunsets, particularly how they like to watch them. He also uses it on other characters, like Cherry. It seems to be used as a good, redeeming quality. It shows how lighthearted both characters are, even one from a rival gang. It is also used it johnny’s explanation for “staying gold”. Watching sunsets is one of Ponyboy’s many qualities to keep Johnny in believing in him. Watching sunsets is a way to show a person’s softer side, a way to give the characters dreams and aspirations, not to just live in the moment, but for the new ones too.

This isn’t a quote, but an object in the book that is surrounded by multiple quotes. It is the book Gone with the Wind. It particularly has to do with the character johnny. On pages 75 to 76 It talks about how he loves the book and he can truly understand and relate to it. The book also shows ponyboy how deep of a person johnny is when analyzing it. Then on pages 178 to 179 you see the letter Johnny left for Ponyboy before he died. It was in between one of the pages of the book Gone with the wind. He left it in the book that represented him the most when it came to who he was on the inside. He may have seemed like just some “dumb greaser” to most people, and even to some of his friends he wasn’t any better than that. But, within that book he is so much more. He’s kind, thoughtful, and deep person, and the only other person who knew that was Ponyboy, the person who the letter in Gone with the Wind is directed too. He also mentions Dally, one of the other characters he was also close to, who may have understood him more than people thought. Overall this book represented a different side to Johnny, and even a different side we have in all of us.

There are other people who share my ideas with symbolism and the meaning of the book and well as have conflict with them. Michael J. Twinsburg from Teen Ink said “The book has a strong message of staying young and innocent. It teaches us not to create a shell to block emotions and the importance of friendship.” The book did have a message of staying young and innocent, but I also thought it was saying it is possible to stay true to yourself for the rest of your life. But, it does teach us the importance of friendship, seeing how much of a strong bond the whole gang has, especially Ponyboy, and johnny.

Symbolism is important to the book because without it there are no central ideas you get from it. Sure you could state it through text, but it’s so much more realistic and interesting to figure out what it means. I think this story does a great job at using symbolism, at taking small details and making some of them the main theme of the book. We see a main focus of identity, people acting one way for some people, and another way to other. The main character is unsure who he is, who he wants to be, or he will inevitably become. Without symbolism I don’t think I could ever get the real effect from this theme. From just sunsets, gone with the wind, and a letter I see no matter who you are, or what situation you are in you should always be the best version of yourself, which for Ponyboy is who he is right now.

Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

1. Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York: Viking, 1967. Print.

2. Twinsburg, Michael J. "The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton." The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Teen Ink, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

Oh god, oh, oh god he’s looking at me.

They’re all looking at me.

Why? All I wore was a t-shirt and jeans. Is it my boobs? Is there too much cleavage?

(looks down at boobs) There’s only a little. What’s the big deal!

Is it my jeans then? My butt?! (Looks at butt) They are somewhat tight…

But so are their clothes! One of them isn’t even wearing a shirt!

(Pause) Oh no they’re starting to shout! They’re starting to shout!

Okay, okay just ignore them and they’ll go away.

Just ignore them and they’ll go away.

Just ignore them and they’ll go…

ARRGGGH! It’s not working! I just want it to stop. This is so humiliating.

Maybe I should say something…

NO! no I can’t do that. What if I start some shit? It could get really out of hand.

I shouldn’t, I really shouldn’t (long pause, silence)

(Blurts out) What did I do to deserve this?!

I was just walking on the street and this has to happen. Everyday.

I mean (laughing) Nicki Minaj shakes her fake ass only wearing a thong and she get treated like a goddess!

But I,

I,

I’m a…

Slut,

Tramp,

Whore.

Is that what they really think of me? You don’t even know me…

I mean, I see hot guys walking down the street all the time (Short pause) well… not all the time, but I don’t shout at them.

In front of everyone!

I know they have hormones, different from women, but that doesn’t mean they have to make me feel…

Subhuman.

Don’t get me wrong it’s not all of you. Maybe some of you are trying to be nice!

Beautiful is a compliment!

But there comes a point where I just

Where I just don’t know anymore.

And maybe I should just stopping dressing like a “Slut”

Or walking around at night

Or just alone In general.

Or maybe you need to just stop.

I have no interest in this topic seeing as I have no accent, I’ve never been against other people’s accents, and never been affected by a family member/ friends accent. I’ve always heard strong accents, and maybe I have judged or poked fun, but they’ve never really affected me personally. But, this is not just about accents it’s really just about your speech in general, so I guess I will talk about what i’ve noticed with my voice, particularly how I talk to people depending on who they are. Even though I have a defining personality that stays with me everywhere sometimes I change a little depending on the person I’m with.

I walk to the cafeteria filled with loud noises, and rushing feet,. I come to the table closest to the lunch line where I find my friend Amanda eating what the school district calls “food”. I set my backpack down on the table, rush to put my frozen chicken masala in the microwave and find a seat next to her.

“Hey.”

“Hi” Amanda says.

“How has your day been going”?” I say somewhat sarcastically.  

She takes a deep breath and starts shaking her head.

“Oh god, I just can’t anymore with these teachers. They’re drawin’. I mean Mr. Abbott has a test and a benchmark due in the same week. And guess what! I have to do this asshole’s homework too! We laugh. “I just can’t anymore.’

“Well I’ve got two fuckin’ benchmarks due in the same week. Mr. Chase has one due this Wednesday, and Mrs. Jeffreys is due this Friday. Thank god she changed the date or it would’ve been due on Thursday, I would’ve been fucked!” I say in one breath.

We laugh again, and attempt to eat our lunch in this chaotic cafeteria. Eric walks over to our table and stares and Amanda’s lunch.

“Hey” We say.

“That shit looks like cat food. That’s disgusting.” He says pointing at it, laughter.

“More like cat vomit. “ I say. More laughter.

“No it looks like sweat. Like fucking sweat!” He says. Even more laughter.

“I don’t even know if I want to eat it anymore.” Amanda says.

“ I wouldn’t.” I say. Eric nods his head in agreement. Amanda throws out her food looking hungry and tired.

“Can I have some of your’s?” She says eyeing my food. I give into her puppy eyes and let her have some of my chicken masala.

When i’m with my friends I obviously talk how ever I want to. I curse, talk trash, and am overall incredibly vulgar. And so are my friends. It’s not a bad thing, everyone does it, but you only do it in front of the appropriate people. If I were to talk this way in front of an adult, I probably wouldn’t get a positive response. And, in my case wouldn’t, which is why I talk much differently with adults, particularly my dad.

I sit down at the kitchen table, waiting for my food to be served. My dad scoops up some mac and cheese into my bowl. After giving himself a serving he sits down. We start eating, at first in silence with jazz in the background, and then  my dad starts to talk.

“How was your day at school today?” He asks. He asks this a lot. I guess all parents do.

“Good.” I say.

“Well what did you do?” He asks.

“Nothing much.” I answer. “Just went to classes, talked to friends and stuff.”

“Oh. Well what do you have for homework?” He says.

“I have this history project…” I say.

“About what?” He says.

“Um, well it’s like this project where you have like a fake wikipedia page, and the topic is religion, and everyone does something different on religion. I'm doing art and religion.” I say.

“That sounds cool.” He says.

“Yeah the religion’s I’m doing are Islam and buddhism so I have to do some research on that…” And that’s when a billion other questions come in, and his knowledge on art, religion, buddhism, islam, and pretty much everything else that has ever existed. He also asks me if he can see some photos of this religious art that I have found. I of course have none, so I have to look up some google images.Then after realizing I already finished my meal I clear my plate and ask to be excused.

“Thanks for the dinner dad. It was really good.” I say.

“Your welcome. Make sure to show me those pictures!” He says.

“I will.” I say.

My voice changes when I talk to certain people. I am louder, more vulgar, and more revealing with my friends, while I don’t really know what to say with my dad or most adults in general. I don’t feel like I have to act a certain way in front them, or I have to say certain things to please them. There is no pressure, no worry with them, and I can say mostly what I want. I don’t know if this how your life works, maybe you feel the opposite way, or at least have more freedom to speak towards your parents/ adults. But, I think one thing we can all agree on is we don’t talk or act exactly the same with everyone.

Chloe Epstein

12/6/14

Orange

Reflection

SFP-

Inquiry- I wanted to know more about Pollution and how it affects the world in different ways so I could prove it’s existence to people who think it’s not a serious problem.

Research- We gathered information by using resources like the internet and teachers who knew about this topic.

Collaboration- Since focusing on a problem like pollution we were a part of the community because if we don’t do something about our polluted climate soon there will be no community at all.

Presentation- We both took turns speaking and tried to be loud and keep people interested. We were also well prepared when answering questions.

For my last two blogs, I researched and created my own study on supporting an increase in the minimum wage. Blog #1 was about the supporting/opposing views on minimum wage and Blog #2 was about what average people knew and felt about the minimum wage. Blog #3 is about what I can do to help this cause and actually putting myself out into the world instead of just giving facts and opinions. The way I helped was by spreading information on minimum wage to the citizens of Philadelphia for a vote in May.

As you can see it is very difficult to change this problem which is why trying to get people’s attention about this cause is so important. Even phone banking is hard because their are many complications with it. For example, sometimes the person didn’t answer their phone, didn’t speak English, had a wrong number, or just refused to talk. You also had to make sure people understood what you were talking about. Many times, when people call about issues, it is confusing and vague so it’s hard to know what you are supporting. Fortunately the script was clear and short. For example, one part of the script explained the issue of minimum wage saying “Did you know that many workers at the airport make $7.25 per hour? This May, we get to vote for thousands of subcontracted city workers like them to get a raise from $7.25 to $10.88 an hour. This will mean a million more dollars in the pockets of working Philadelphia families.” Explanations like these made it easier for people to understand the issues and their stance on them. Making a change can be hard and takes a lot of work, so groups like POWER need all the help they can get.  

Even though this process wasn’t easy I did get four people to talk to me, which was pretty successful because they all said they were going to vote and support the minimum wage increase. However, even after making calls, I think there was a lot more I could’ve done to support this cause. I could’ve gotten more involved with other events like this or organizations that were doing similar work. During the phone banking, I sometimes felt like I wasn’t doing the best I could when it came to trying to get people to talk to me. It was hard because it was my first time making calls and I didn’t know how to talk to people who didn’t really care, or didn’t want to talk to me. But, considering all my obstacles, I think I did the best that I could and I’m glad I got involved with an issue like this.

This experience made me realize how important it is to get involved with the community and issues around the world. It’s really hard to make change and a lot people would rather just argue about the problem than actually do something about it. The fact is even though sometimes speeches and debates can help, the best thing to do is take action. It’s helpful to the community and even the whole world and it feels really good afterwards because you’re a part of the fight to make the world a better place.

Mi familia

Mi familia es muy raro y bonito pero estricto. Somos una familia muy pequeña porque no tengo hermanos. Mi mamá es muy inteligente y trabajador y divertido. También puede ser muy sobreprotector. A ella le encanta la lectura y la escritura. Mi papá es artístico y muy tonto. Le gusta andar en bicicleta conmigo. También tengo un gato gordo llamado Capitan Oreo y un conejito llamado Thumper. A ellos les gusta comer mucho. Especialmente Oreo. Mis padres están divorciados, así que tengo dos casas diferentes. Viven muy cerca, así que mi viaje no es largo. También tengo muchos primos. Por mi parte tengo 5 papás y de mi lado mamá no estoy seguro porque nunca he conocido a ninguno de ellos. Mis primos preferidos se nombran Oona y Caius porque son agradables y divertidos, aunque Caius puede ser un poco molesto. Amo mucho a mi familia a pesar de que puede ser muy loco.

Me encanta en la Escuela, pero su no perfecto  

Mi nombre es Chloë a Chlo-chlo. Tengo catorce años. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. Está en el Centro Filadelfia. Está cerca de Franklin Institute. Mi escuela es divertida y creativa pero muy difícil. Nosotros tenemos quinientos estudiantes y cinco pisos. El deportes mi escuela tiene baloncesto y fútbol y sofbol / béisbol nosotros clubes son debate y robótica y poesio. Yo quiero unirse sofbal en la primavera y debate. Yo Participo en comunidad participation clubes .  

El clase yo soy a español, inglés, historia, bioquímica, y matemáticas. Mi favorita clase es historia porque es interesante y divertida. No me gusta mucho matemáticas porque es muy difícil y aburrida. En historia nosotros leemos, hacemos proyectos, usar la computadormos, y escribiremos. Para tener éxito en esta clase necesitamos es trabajar duro , participar, y ser responsable ahora.

La Srta. Dunn enseña inglés. Es muy inteligente y simpatica. Le gusta leer y hamburguesa teléfono. Ella tiene uno haji. Ella clase es importante pero muy aburrida. Otro profesor yo tiene es Sr. Sherif. El enseña bioquímica. Sr. Sherif es pronto y bobo. La clase es a veces súper interesante pero también estresante. Sr. Sherif es muy no claro y vago cuando dando instrustrucciones es y enseñanza.

Mi nombre es Chloë a Chlo-chlo. Tengo catorce años. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. Está en el Centro Filadelfia. Está cerca de Franklin Institute. Mi escuela es divertida y creativa pero muy difícil. Nosotros tenemos quinientos estudiantes y cinco pisos. El deportes mi escuela tiene baloncesto y fútbol y sofbol / béisbol nosotros clubes son debate y robótica y poesio. Yo quiero unirse sofbal en la primavera y debate. Yo Participo en comunidad participation clubes .  

El clase yo soy a español, inglés, historia, bioquímica, y matemáticas. Mi favorita clase es historia porque es interesante y divertida. No me gusta mucho matemáticas porque es muy difícil y aburrida. En historia nosotros leemos, hacemos proyectos, usar la computadormos, y escribiremos. Para tener éxito en esta clase necesitamos es trabajar duro , participar, y ser responsable ahora.

La Srta. Dunn enseña inglés. Es muy inteligente y simpatica. Le gusta leer y hamburguesa teléfono. Ella tiene uno haji. Ella clase es importante pero muy aburrida. Otro profesor yo tiene es Sr. Sherif. El enseña bioquímica. Sr. Sherif es pronto y bobo. La clase es a veces muy interesante pero también estresante. Sr. Sherif es muy no claro y vago cuando dando instrustrucciones es y enseñanza.

Photosynthesis Presentation

Chloë Epstein

6/12/13

Orange

Script