For my capstone, I have realized this year a bunch of high school students including myself have been really stressed with the transition of a shorter school year, the college process, benchmarks/projects, work, SAT/ACT, and etc. I wanted to find a better way for us to relieve that stress and what is not a better way than Playful therapy. A playful therapy allows people who are stress to express their thoughts without having to speak while they are having fun. The goal of my capstone was finding the best ways for teens to distress and understanding why we stress.

For my process, I have interviewed people who were really stress to people who don’t even stress that often to see what they do to cool down the stress level and if that really worked. After that, I started to research for the best of the best ways teens can maintain their stress level and why teens stress so often. From the research, I have made my events: making slime day to yoga to walking outside and lastly to playing games with your friends. I was really surprise that the students who came to the events enjoyed it and said that it have helped them a lot and they will do this more often. Since the events have helped my clients, I wanted to also make a website for anyone can go to distress while having fun.

Here is the link my website:

https://cvto1021.wixsite.com/cynthia2capstone2019

Here is the Link the Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M9wLrE4fEJDOO39LVmv6yyA2g5OZzopIp_JY9fFUqnk/edit?usp=sharing

Olivia: Concepcion, Theresa. "Supporting #MeToo shouldn't mean dismissing Junot Diaz's rape trauma." The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 25 May, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/05/25/supporting-metoo-shouldnt-mean-dismissing-junot-diazs-rape-trauma/?utm_term=.d19cb3b2f339 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

      This article was about how Junot Diaz was raped as a child and accused of sexual misconduct by several women later in life, and that his trauma may have affected his life. She doesn't claim that it excuses his actions, however. This had me thinking about how his view on women, which may be skewed, evidenced by his actions, may have been manifested in the female characters in his book. He writes a lot about sex from the women's perspective in the book and how this has negatively affected their lives. He may avoid writing about how it affects Oscar because it could remind him of his childhood.

Eric: Vitzthum, Virginia. “Junot Díaz's Pro-Woman Agenda.” ELLE, ELLE, 9 Oct. 2017, www.elle.com/culture/books/reviews/a14353/junot-diaz-interview/.

In an interview with Junot Diaz, Elle magazine asks Diaz about his book, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" Diaz talks about how he wanted to relate his ideas of feminism and masculinity into the book and how they affect the relationships that Oscar has. In the interview, Diaz explains firstly how Oscar was written to not have emotions in a way or at least he doesn't try to show these emotions to other characters too often because men are asked not to be vulnerable. He states that men are expected to cheat in a lot of relationships and this has become a societal norm. Diaz describes that he always tries to incorporate some sort of concern in his book about racism, genocide and in Oscar Wao's case: sexism. Diaz is an activist and leans more towards the left side of the political spectrum. "If you have a book that represents a bunch of sexist, rapist lunatics and they all end up being awesome and wonderful and winning everything and the book is clearly affectionate to them, then this might be problematic. On the other hand, if a book has some pretty average guys, and their way of thinking about the world, about women, and their habits around intimacy and relationships don't produce positive results for them or for the women in their lives, that that is not problematic." This quote demonstrates Diaz outlook on not only modern-day literature but on how he believes that male characters need to have some growth with their sexuality or sexual behavior in order to show their growth as a character. This article helps shed light on how Diaz views sexism and relationships after writing Oscar Wao.

Cynthia: Lee, Sarah. “Junot Diaz: a life in books.” The Guardian, Date Published Fri 31 Aug 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/31/life-in-books-junot-diaz

In this article, the writer talks about how all of the books that Junot Diaz have published relates to his life living in the Dominican Republic and in the States. This has provided insight into both the novel and the feminist lens by Junot Diaz had been rape when he was eight. This relates to why he writes about how women are sexually assaulted in his novel. This allows him to reflected himself in that situation and also give closure to himself. Each of the characters relates to Diaz in a certain way, especially Yunior with appearance and experiences. This is a quote that Junot Diaz mentions in an interview is "I'm of African descent and my sister looks completely black, but I didn't look black. I was the super-nerdy kid who was also willing to fight. I love comics and SF but am hopeless with technology. I am still better with a pick or shovel, even with my bad back, than I am with computers."

Our old house was small but it always fit us. Our living room was the main hub that everyone frequented and it was the main room before we entered and left.  As a family of four in a small South Philly row home, we were always together for the good and the bad. The good, playing house under the desk that my big sister rarely studied at. The okay, getting chased up the stairs and down the hallway when I broke one of my sister’s paper robot collections. And the bad, which were usually from my sister to my parents - now that I think of it. I remember specifically the first bad time I had in the house and it wasn’t because of me. I was young enough to understand but not old enough to fully understand.

This time, the TV was on but no one was watching. The TV volume was muted but it sounded like there was a fight scene happening. The voices were loud but familiar. Looking up, I saw my sister arms bent at her side and in an angry SuperWoman stance and my parents standing over her. They were fuming. I stood behind them, staring at my sister yelling back at my parents. She was nine and we never did that as kids. We don’t talk back to our parents like we need to enforce nine year old made rules. But I guess Ellen didn’t learn that yet. My parents said “well if you don’t like the rules, you can get out!” What?! Get out? I remember standing there, crying without even noticing at first. This girl is my only sister - how can they just tell her to get out? I felt the tears and the heavy breathing kick in and everything was muffled as the snot filled my nose and ears. I couldn’t make of the last thing they were yelling about but the next thing I knew was Ellen was getting picked up and I dropped our taling toy dragon.

As he hit the ground, he said “I love boisenberries,” but that didn’t stop them! That would have stopped me! My dad put her outside and watched her through the screen, door half cracked to isolate her. I remember crying even harder. They just threw away my sister! My only best friend. What was I going to do? I didn’t have the power to let her back in, right?  I paced around scared and started packing some food, clothes, and shoes. She was barefoot on the door mat! That’s not allowed. After packing, my five year old body pushed the door back to let her in. My parents were shocked. They're faces were focused on what I would do next so I let her in. I was a big girl making big moves for my big sister.

After she stayed outside of the house for a few minutes, I opened the door to let her in. We both started crying and hugging each other. We cherished every moment from there on. That was really a traumatic experience for a little kid to experience even though they were not the one in trouble but got to see. To this day, my parents have never done that again. When I look back, I see that this teaching moment brought us together.

Introduction: The goal of my essay was for me to write about what I remember and reflect on my family and capturing the perfect moment. I wrote about how I hated that my parents took a bunch of pictures and now I appreciate the pictures they took. The area that I am most proud of is my last paragraph because I sum up everything with my reflection about taking the perfect photo. The area that I need improvement on is the connecting more scenes to my essay.

I had never looked forward to trips when I was younger. That all changed when my annual family trip was planned, and this year it was Mexico. This happened because the stars aligned and Drexel’s summer break lined up with my summer break. The morning of the trip, my brain was scattered everywhere trying to make sure we had everything together for the adventure we had waiting for us. While I am packing the suitcase, my sister Ellen was packing all of the cameras and equipment -  Polaroid, a tripod, and a DSLR. Going on a vacation with my family, you have to make sure you bring enough Polaroid refills. We almost used a pack in one day! Ten films would not work for this family, it wouldn't even last a day.

By the time we finished packing, it was 6:30 in the morning and our flight with American Airlines was at 10 am. As time went by, my stress level had gone down and my excitement had risen up. I couldn't wait to start the journey that I knew that I would have. We finally got to the airport, through TSA, and onto the plane. As soon as I sat down, I fell asleep and woke up in beautiful Mexico.

On the second day of the trip, my mom didn’t really want to go into the beautiful clear water of the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, she took so many of the same pictures and videos non- stop until the very last day of the trip. Which at the time, I thought it was pointless because she was just taking a lot of the same pictures. Once my parents learned how to take pictures or videos on their own, they stopped us when they saw something breath taking or beautiful, just to take one picture. Soon enough, we had to limit their pictures to  just enjoy our trip without being stopped every second. I told my mom no more pictures for now and to enjoy our time here because we don't see this is Philly. I knew that my parent’s just wanted something to remember these moments. On the other hand, I like to live in the moment and take pictures with my memory instead.  

During our third to last day in Isla Mujeres, my dad and I decided that both of us would go to the Selvatica Adventure Park, while my sister and my mom went to an outdoor museum. It took two fine fours to get to the place of adventure. When we finally got there, the photographer took numerous pictures of us holding two colorful birds before we started on our activity. The instructors took us really high up in the jungle. It looked similar to a jungle gym for grown-ups. Once the instructors hooked me into a harness, my heart started to racing unusually fast. My dad and I both waited for our turn together. I was on the right and my dad was on the left. The instructors told us to lay on something, similar to a bed, so he could hook us up to the wires. I shed tears of fear just at the thought of falling from 100 feet down to the jungle in mid-air. I was not ready and I wanted to back out, but my dad said it was too late to back out. My biggest fear was doing the Superman zip line, which is where we were in our stomach and the table from under us would drop. Afterward, it felt like I was flying and turned out to be the best thing I did in the whole trip. Sadly, the photographers took some embarrassing pictures of us. The photographers were moving the cameras around to get the perfect shoots. They end up taking about 125 pictures of my dad and I - so that number did not compare to the amount that my mom and dad took.

The next day, as a whole family, we wanted to go see the outdoor art sculptures. Before we got there, we took many stops here and there. My parents couldn’t get enough of the perfect view and took fifteen pictures of my sister and I at each stop, and my sister doing the same for my parents. We also had to ask strangers to take pictures for us as a family. I feel uncomfortable having to pose for a really long time. We finally get there and my mom wants us to take more pictures with most of all the art sculptures. She mom kept moving her phone around, spamming the camera button on her smartphone. Meanwhile, I just wanted to look around and take pictures here and there of the beautiful art. My parents never understood how taking a lot of pictures and staying in one spot is not my thing.

“No more pictures! This is the last picture,” I exhaustedly said.

“Take a picture, this is going to be the last picture,” said my mom.

Throughout this whole trip, it was all about taking pictures and making new memories with my family. It felt like the pictures were going on a never-ending loop. With my family, we can never just take one photo. There will always be someone looking the opposite direction of the camera. At the end of the day, there is always one perfect picture with all of us looking. And even though I didn't like taking so many pictures, I just appreciated that I can go to these places with my family.

Había una vez, un hombre Africano llamado Ochosi. Cuando tenía diez años, su padre le dio el arco y flecha y tomó en su primer viaje de caza. Él era tan bueno cazando, que continuó cazando cuando era adulto. Él sabía cómo matar conejos, mapaches, venados y personas, si quería. Ochosi creció como un hombre fuerte y guapo.

Un día, mientras caminaba por el bosque, Ochosi vio un camino de sangre, lo que llevó a una mujer boca abajo. Ochosi sacó la flecha de la espalda de la víctima. ¡Volteó el cuerpo y vio a Oprah! La policía apareció y corrió hasta Ochosi. Le pusieron las esposas y lo empujaron al coche de policía. La policía acusó a Ochosi de asesinar a Oprah.

Una semana más tarde...

Él fue acusado de asesinar Oprah. Lo que el tribunal no sabe, sin embargo, es que èl es en realidad inocente. Él estaba en un viaje de caza cuando la policía vino y le detuvo, dando impresión de que él era el asesino. El tribunal asumió que él era culpable simplemente porque él era negro. Fue un caso perdido desde el comienzo. Ahora está en la cuerda de la muerte.  

El día en el que está programado su asesinato es mañana. Pensando en su vida y moral,

él decidió que él deseaba haber podido pasar su vida ayudando a la gente. Las personas que han sido tratadas injustamente por la ley. Gente como él.

Al día siguiente fue llevado a la silla eléctrica. Sintió una sensación de hormigueo. Sabía que su cuerpo estába muerto pero todavía puede pensar. Él fue y se levantó y encontró que su mano se movía a través de la restricción. Ahora él es un espíritu.

Después de estar ahí por un rato, Ochosi vio algo. Era una visión. El conductor es un joven negro, y había un policía blanco. Ellos estaban discutiendo acerca de por qué el hombre fue detenido, el policía reclamando que el joven iba en exceso de velocidad y el joven diciendo que él no hizo eso. El policía empujó al hombre y lo tiró al suelo, y con una pistola

apuntaba a su cabeza. Ochosi corrió hacia el hombre y del policía.

Ochosi observó sus manos, sorprendido con lo que él hizo y paró. El policía se levantó confundido, y se fugó hacia su coche de policía y se fue conduciendo. El joven hombre negro se arrodillò y dice: “Le alabo, guerrero divino”.

Why do people treat different  people unfairly? This usually happens because of miscommunications, misunderstandings, or just plain jealousy because of the different classes, race, and faith of others. In such a social society, being “normal” is the norm for our society and being special is deterring. Special needs people aren’t always treated with the same respect as people considered “normal” are. Special needs people are often looked down upon. In the book the Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, none of the other boys  would listen to Piggy when he had the almighty conch in his hand. This behavior shows that symbols are not as powerful as our society wants them to be. This is because the power ultimately lies with the individual and the social status of that individual and not the object itself.

In the chapter,5  , Beast from Water, Ralph set up a meeting about the beast and no one could talk unless they were holding the conch. That was their way for one person to talk at a time, but it didn't really work. When it came time for Piggy to have the conch in his hands, no one wanted to listen to what he had to say even though he had information. The boys treated Piggy like he was different, just because he had specs, ass-mar, and he was a bit heavier than most of the other boys on the island.“‘Sit down!’ ‘Shut up!’ ‘Take the conch!’ ‘Sod you!’ ‘Shut up!’ Ralph shouted. ‘Hear him! He’s got the conch!’” (89) The meaning of the conch is for one person to talk at a time and to show leadership and power. At the time, Ralph was on Piggy’s side and tried to enforce the rule no matter who the hand the conch in their possession. That rule worked until Piggy had the conch and then no one listened. This shows that people would rather listen to the patient with the normal appearance instead of the person with the special needs or different appearance. This shows that people that are similar to Piggy are not being appreciated but ignored.

The book is not the only time that example has happened. This social stigma has also happened in reality. In a middle school in Cleveland, Ohio, Shaker Middle School made it on the news for the wrong reasons. The broadcasting talked about a little kid with special needs was walking out of school and was targeted because he was different from the other kids. This just shows that no matter what scenario it is, different isn’t always. The people who are different are usually treated poorly through abuse and punishment like how in the book the Lord of the flies. Piggy was an outcast that had a lot of problems and no one would listen to him and would only push him around.

In our society today, people try and use symbol to indicate power. This shows that in order to get power, a symbol is needed to represent it and drive the meaning of power home towards others. Throughout history, symbol and power have been hand in hand with each other. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, stood up for people during the Civil Rights Movement. He didn’t use any physical symbols but his speeches that he wrote were emotional and vocal symbols. His speeches gave the Black communities. He gave them hope that things were going to be better. Martin Luther King Jr. never used violence or abuse to make people to believe him. He made people feel safe and comfortable. He was a great leader and very peaceful. When comparing Martin Luther King Jr. to the LotF leader, Jack, it is evident that they were two different types of leaders. Jack was similar to a dictator and used fear and cruelty to gain power.

Another example from the book showed that power ultimately lied with the individual, not the object itself. At the end of the book, the boys have no other hope in getting off of the island so they started to hunt one another and went against people, slowly killing the people that did not obey the leader. This happened until the officer came to rescue the boys from the island.

During the rescue, the boys reflected on what happened on the island and what they did was wrong. When approached by the officer, “Ralph shook his head. The officer looked past him to the group of painted boys. ‘Who’s boss here?’ ‘I am,’ said Ralph loudly.” (201) After everything that happened on the island, the boys left still wanting to gain the power that everyone so ruthlessly fought for. This shows that the kids to want to have power, even though they could be able to go back home and that they already lost two innocent lives, Simon and Piggy.

While Ralph was answering the officer’s question, he didn’t use the conch to speak. This signified the loss of the need for a symbol and power. Ralph was just glad to have this be over and that everything that happened started to sink in along with the guilt. Ralph had a greed of power and wanted to answer the questions about the island. He could not really answer to them because the only person who know the answers to the questions was Piggy, who was killed by Roger. Jack started to cry while the answering the question, “ He gave himself up to them now for the first time on island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body.” (202) Jack and the other boys finally understood what they did to Simon and Piggy was wrong and there's nothing they can do to fix it. This made Ralph forget about having his power back and made him focus on how he lost true and wise friend, Piggy.

Overall, the  Lord of the Flies demonstrated that power and greed cannot be represented by a symbol but by the popularity status and normalcy of a person. In the end, readers saw that symbols mean nothing without the leader. In the book, the boys only realized that after two deaths and a rescue.

Works Cited:

Golding, William. Lord Of The Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Seymour, Chloe. Martin Luther King Jr. -- a symbol of courage. Communication Report. January 21, 2016. <http://www.tacomlcmccommunityreport.com/features/1.16featureMLKremarks.aspx>

WOIO.Family says boy with special needs was assaulted at Shaker Middle School. March 23rd 2017. Cleveland 19 Digital Team. <http://www.cleveland19.com/story/34982953/family-says-boy-with-special-needs-was-assaulted-at-shaker-middle-school>

Soy Cynthia.

En el comenzando, soy

timida y tranquila.

En el fin, me encanta correr,

ir de compras y pasar tiempo con amigos.

No soy ni aburrida

ni perezosa.

Yo soy…

!YO!

1.The video  we watched in class was “I am witness” Bullying video. The classroom activity today was to tell a grown up if this was ever to happen to you and that you should never do this to someone else. http://iwitnessbullying.org/

2. This video brings to my mind in reference to the topic of Bullying is when someone being mean to someone in a hurtful way.

3. I am this random girl on google and I only have a picture of me on google. I appear as this girl from Housewives of Atlanta.

4. I think people perceive me maybe our names are kinda similar or face or race.

5. The goal of internet trolls is someone who post comments to be other people down.

6.. The positive and negative results of online anonymity are the people who score high on the Dark Tetrad said trolling was their favorite activity on internet and the people who score low on the Dark Tetrad except trolls their scores for the four traits increase on the chart.