Introduction

Completing this essay was a leap in the right direction for me. During this process, I learned more about my own literacy as well as discovering how to improve those literacies. People think just because math is numbers, it is not a literacy but it is. Math needs to practice and read daily to become one of your strengths. I think the thing I’m most proud of is my reflections in this essay. They are very in depth and go into intense detail about how it affected me. Something I could approve on is the way I structure my ideas. A lot of the times I just string them together without thought. In my peer reviews, my rough draft was often called “confusing” because I knew what I was trying to say but everyone else was confused. Next time I want to work on communicating my ideas better.

The more successful or powerful a person gets, it seems they will forget about the people/person that helped them along the way. As the value of their appreciation decreases, they either choose to stick around and fade to the background, get kicked out by new help or, leave in hopes that someone else will appreciate them more. What seems to happen is that the  successful person ends up needing the person that got them to where they were, but they already left. Sometimes, when a person forgets about someone who helped them succeed every step along the way, for someone or something else, the effects are not beneficial. It can backfire and hurt more than it can help it. Without realizing, it might be a little too late to fix. As people become successful, their best advisors are those who knew them before they hit it big, but they often cast those people off because once they gain success, there is no longer any use for their advisors.

In the book ‘The Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, Piggy is the most important character of all. The author shows his personality by interacting with other characters; the other character (Ralph) seems annoyed by him. Piggy seems very talkative and not really sensible at first. When first encountering a character named ‘Piggy’ you don’t really think much. He is concerned with no being without adult supervision and wants to go home. Piggy just wants to find ways to get everyone and himself home. Leading up to this point, Piggy just spoke on and on about how his Aunt had told him about a conch and how it was used as a device to call people with the sound it makes when you blow into it. Suddenly he remembers a piece of information that can help them, “Ralph looked up. ‘We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us--””(16) Looking at this excerpt from the text, Piggy reveals very helpful information to Ralph. His recollection of his memories that pour out of his mouth like a waterfall helps bring all of the boys on the island together. Ralph instead of thanking Piggy, does not fully appreciate his talents or his efforts to try and unify the boys and tries to take control of everyone. Ralph just looks at Piggy as though everything he does is wrong. Piggy feels this but still sticks around hoping that Ralph will appreciate him in the long run. Having hope that maybe he too will help all the boys that are stranded on the island. He will try to help Ralph as much as possible only to find that Ralph forgets about him.

An example of forgetting who has helped along the way is also found in the real world. A popular kids tune, ‘Ring Around the Rosies’ can show this. In this example it shows it in a more analogical way. Historically, it is believed to be song about how people in the 1300’s died of the Bubonic Plague; also known as ‘black death’. It was so bad barely anyone survived from this wave of sickness. The meaning of the song is very morbid but, it describes the process perfectly.  This will happen over and over again until the person that has been forgotten about gets sick of it. Think of Ralph’s behavior as a ‘disease’; the more power he earns the more he neglects Piggy. This ‘disease’ of forgetting about the people who help you most is contagious. It is used again and again to help one gain. “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.” Figuratively, it could mean the fall of power or career. Looking at it in a literal sense, it could mean death or something terrible to happen to the person who helped them most. The main point is, it becomes a sad story told over and over again like, ‘Ring Around the Rosies.’ They will reminisce on the events and how it affected them. Feeling guilt, regret and, sadness about how the treated the person who helped them the most.

In realization that he is trouble, Ralph is hiding. He is hiding from everyone who betrayed him up until this point. All the boys, including Ralph, have gone absolutely crazy. Turning on one another and losing people left and right had become the norm on the island. Without Piggy there to count and give suggestions, the boys had turned into ultimate savages. Ralph never really had thought about Piggy’s contributions to their civilizations until now. “What was the sensible thing to do? There was no Piggy to talk sense. There was no solemn assembly for debate nor dignity of the conch.”(196) The feeling of regret and guilt that was mentioned earlier, has settled in for Ralph. Now that Piggy is gone, the sensibility went with him. Piggy didn’t help the civilization, he was the civilization. Without him all the boys had become complete savages. The idea of a “solemn assembly...dignity of the conch” would not even be a thought if it weren’t for Piggy. It had happened over and over again until it did not benefit Ralph anymore. He was all alone and the one person who always had his back had left. Now, he needed Piggy more than ever. In turn, these actions backfired and became unbeneficial.

Ralph realized that he no longer needed Piggy, but when it was too late, that’s when Piggy was needed the most. Ralph was gaining more power, but pushed away his advisor without realizing the help he was going to need from him. In The Lord of the Flies, William Golding does a good job at showing that, sometimes, when a person forgets about someone who helped them succeed every step along the way the effects are not beneficial. Also, he showed that Ralph was wrong for letting go of Piggy because he was the one person who helped him the most.

WORKS CITED

"Ring around the Rosy Rhyme." Ring around the Rosy Rhyme. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.rhymes.org.uk/ring_around_the_rosy.htm>.

Winick, Stephen. "Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason." Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason. Library of Congress, 24 July 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/07/ring-around-the-rosie-metafolklore-rhyme-and-reason/>.

Keko, Don. "Ring Around the Rosie and the Black Death." Examiner.com. Examiner.com, 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.examiner.com/article/ring-around-the-rosie-and-the-black-death>.

Alrighty, alrighty you guys please settle down this staff meeting is commencing. Now, this week wasn’t the best now, the pipes did bust in the laundry room which uhh...that was pretty bad. What did ya say son? Because they’re wood? It took 5 years for the modern day pipes  to bust, we’ve had these wooden ones for almost 200 years. You need to knock some sense into that young head of yours this place is amazing. No I’m not some crazy old man! Are you guys crazy? You must be absolutely insane some of your parents and grandparents lived here. Mary, you were birthed about 100 feet away, right there in the lobby! Don’t tell me you’re really trying to knock this place down? (mumbles) Maybe we need a new manager, someone with some more appreciation for this place. No, you guys don’t appreciate it! You wanna knock it down make “bigger and better”. Ya know kids this is the bigger and better.

At one time when I was a young boy, I’ll never forget JFK visiting, he said this was the finest hotel, the only one he went to that had ice cream bar with his favorite, hot fudge. What! Whose JFK? The 35th President of the United States god dammit! His spoon and picture are hung up in the dining room. Are you dumb? You guys already got the ice cream bar replaced with a regular bar, ya messing up tradition. Mary I expected more from you, my only daughter. You know how much this place means to me.

Tearing it down means ripping apart my childhood. I was a homeless child, abandoned and hungry. Living on the streets looking for a place to live. I had no luck, all I had were bridges to jump off of or pills to take to end it all. Mr. Clermont  found me and saved my life. He let me stay at his hotel, this hotel. This place gave me a job, a place to sleep, a reason to live. You know that! This place means everything to me! (sniffles) Now I know all of you think I’m some goofy old man but I just tell jokes because Mr. Clermont loved them. He was my father figure on his deathbed I told him I would keep this place alive the way it is, the way it is supposed to be forever. There are so many memories, you can’t take those away from me, but they’re trying too.

(starts to calm down) The doctor, the doctor says something's wrong with my brain. And um, I can’t lose my memories, not today. Alzheimer's can’t get to me. I have this place. Don’t take my joy and happiness away from me, not when it’s all I got left. Yeah, this place is a little old but we have custom made chandeliers with real gems in them. Who's got that? We got that! We have three awards for longest upkeep of wood pipes! Who's got that? We got that! Our Yelp reviews are always, always amazing. Who's got that? We got that! Ain’t no denying, this place is special it’s everything. I just, I just want things to be how they were before all this new stuff and I keep on forgetting the old stuff, what matters. (walks over to sit in a chair and looks up) I’m an old man (tear rolls down his cheek) who can’t even remember that his only daughter's name isn’t even Mary, it’s M-m-m-m-mia? Mia. (puts head in hands and cries)

“...and that’s why I love Justin Bieber like he’s so cute.”

“Yea me too you know he’s dating…”

Common chatter among my school friends and I. We always gossiped about how much we loved Justin Bieber and who he was with.

“I know right I can’t believe it, they’re cute together, I guess-”

He was coming out with songs like ‘Boyfriend’ that made us really want him to be our boyfriend. We frequently had these chats but usually they were not interrupted by someone saying,

“Destiny you talk so much.”

These were words I had heard billions of times but, when she said it, it hurt. She was my best friend, why would she say that?. Maybe she was right, maybe I was talking to much. At that time, her approval meant a lot to me. Everyone else, including me, thought she was so cool!  Honestly, I don’t know why we all thought that. No one stood up for me they just looked away or shrugged kind of agreeing. Having friends that did not stand up for me sucked. It’s like she sucked all the power out of their voices and they all just agreed with it. She was normal and nothing out of the ordinary she was just pretty, really pretty and bossy and once you have a few followers, it can be easy to feel “entitled” to be in charge.

I stopped talking as much. Talking seemed like the worst option for my eleven year old self. It all started well, it never really started in a specific place. I had always been talkative and someone who always made sure their opinions heard but, my peersothers started to care about what I said starting in the sixth grade. In my class, there was this girl who was a good friend of mine. We had never been in the same class before and she was so excited that we were this year. Usually, I’d answer a lot in class, participate a lot in group work and, make guesses even if I didn’t think it was right. From my teachers I would always hear,

“Destiny is such a great participant in class and always tries her best.”

“Destiny is pretty chatty in class but, always has input that is really helpful for us all.”

My classroom personality had been something that everyone had gotten used too and did not think it was annoying, for the most part. At home I was loud, bubbly and, full of “what happened at school” chatter. At school, after that incident I was quieter. I only answered questions sometimes even if I knew the answer. I stopped guessing if I didn’t feel one hundred percent about my answer. No one had really talked about me talking too much. But, me and my friend would hang out and she would say things like,

“Your voice is too high.”

At this point I was confused. I honestly did not  know what to do. How was I supposed to change my voice? Then on top of that everyone would always ask me,

“Destiny, why do you always talk so white?”

I never understood what this meant. Was it because I talked in a complete sentences? I usually shrugged it off and said,

“I don’t but, whatever.”

The argument did not seem worth it to me but, now I had to figure out a way to talk deeper, less and, not “white” to get my friends, family and, peers off my back about my voice.

After all those times being criticized about my voice, I just dealt with it. The mocking, the little jabs about how annoying it was or how I talked like someone who was not black. This made me incredibly insecure about my voice. When I met new people, I would think that my voice would be a factor in whether they liked me or not. Over time, I thought it was this huge deal breaker that made people not want to be my friend. But, something changed when I came to SLA.

“Oh yea your Mom is so nice.”

I said remembering when one of my friends mom gave me a ride.

“Yeah she’s like obsessed with you at the tournament she was like, ‘Oh, her voice is so nice’”

She responded laughing.

“Really, everyone has always told me that my voice is super annoying.”

I responded warily. No one had ever complimented my voice.

“Yea she think it’s cute!”

Now, I know it’s weird to get worked up about what people think about you but, it can be hard not to. When someone tells you something enough, you start to believe it. So, when she told me her Mom said that, my heart warmed and I started to believe, not only in myself, but in my voice. It had power and someone thought it was cute. Now, I could use all my new found confidence in my voice and not seem so wary about it. Everyone’s voice no matter how strange you think it is because they have knowledge and knowledge is power.

Knowledge is power but who really knows your knowledge unless you speak it. Keeping it all bottled up can be a detriment to others. They are not experiencing the joy that is you. Kind of like in the Little Rascals. The character ‘Uh Huh’ only ever said the words ‘uh huh’ in agreement. But, at the end it is powerful when he uses long extravagant descriptive words. “Actually, I've always had a rather extensive vocabulary, not to mention a phenomenal grasp of grammar and a superlative command of syntax. I simply chose not to employ them.” (The Little Rascals; 1994) Language is power. Sometimes your voice can be cut down or dismissed by others. I am no stranger to this feeling. If someone has told you your voice is too loud, too high-pitched, too annoying there is nothing you can do. Your voice will always too much of something for someone. When your voice is silenced you are weak, out of power, and no longer being yourself. Have yourself an ‘Uh huh’ moment and show people what you are made of and bring out your home self to the world. Choose to employ your words because someone will find them cute, funny or, interesting.

Mi grupo interevestan Kenny, nuestros SAT de nuestro español clase. Nosotros entrevistamos porque nosotros admiramos el creatividad y sentido del humor. Kenny tiene unos ojos cafés y pelo puntiagudo. Su pelo es largo, marrón, y negro. Kenny es bajo, delgado, y un poco guapo. Kenny nació en doce de diciembre, 1996 a Jeff y Hong Nguyen.  Su familia es pequeña y muy interesante. Su tiene un hermano mayor. Su hermano mayor se llama John. John tiene veintinueve años y es desde Vietnam. Kenny también tiene ochos primos total! ¡Eso es mucho!

Kenny asiste Science Leadership Academy. Su amigos son Audrey, My, Penelope, y Aaron. En escuela, Kenny gusto ratón con amigos, después su tarea es completo. Audrey, Penelope, My, y Aaron son unos personas mayores, gusto Kenny. Kenny toma fotografía, historia, inglés, físico educación, matemáticas, y ciencia. ¡Kenny tiene un horario muy ocupado!  La sujeto de favorita de Kenny s ciencia porque de la experimentos. Su la sujeto de menos favorita de Kenny es matemáticas porque los cálculos son súper duro. Kenny quiere ir a Universidad de Pennsylvania después el graduados escuela secundaria. Kenny quiere ser un médico cuando el ser hace mayor, porque el gusto aprendiendo ciencia en escuela.

Tener Información Completa Sobre SLA

¡Hola! Mi equipo nombre es Guapos. Nombres son Keith, Madison, y Destiny. Tenemos quince años Madison y Destiny. Keith tengo dieciseis años. Somos son estudiantes a Science Leadership Academy. SLA tiene 484 estudiantes y cinco pesos. Muchas profesores. SLA es en 55 N 22nd St. Lugares comer ‘7 eleven’, ’Arch Gourmet’, y ‘Trader Joes’. Tenemos proyectos interesante, profesores simpáticos, profesores son trabajar duro, y divertidos. Leemos mucho libros! En almuerzo estamos de vago. Pla Es por eso que encantamos la escuela.

Nuestras clases son historia, álgebra, inglés y español. Las clases favoritas de Keith son  inglés y  bioquímica. En la clase de la inglés que leemos libros y duro trabajamos. Los materiales que necesitas para clase de inglés son una pluma, y cuaderno. Las clases favoritas de Madison son la bioquímica y  inglés. Las clases favoritas de Destiny son el inglés y español. En la clase de la español que juegos, vídeos. Los materiales que necesitas para clase de español son una pluma, y la carpeta. Para tener éxito en esta clase español tenemos que hacer toda la tarea. En la clase de historia que participamos. Los materiales que necesitas para clase de historia son la computadora y dos hojas de papel. Para tener`éxito en esta clase historia tenemos que hacer  tarea y prestar attention. En la clase de la álgebra que resolvemos problemas. Los materiales que necesitas para clase de álgebra son una pluma, y tres hojas de papel. Para tener éxito en esta clase álgebra tenemos que hacer tarea y estar preparado.  Para tener éxito en esta clase inglés tenemos que hacer tarea y ser responsable.

La Srta. Manuel enseña español. Ella es divertida. Nosotros ver la cine y cantar canción en español. Señor Kay es el profesor de inglés. La clase es interesante. En la clase, nosotros leemos el Odyssey. Srta. Giorgio enseña matemáticas. Ella enseña geometría y álgebra Necesitamos tomar apuntes y trabajar duro. Bioquímica es muy interesante. Tu tienes disección cerdos. No me gusta nada!