The process was rather scattered, since I was coordinating photoshoots while editing past ones while trying to format my final instructional manual, but I wouldn't have had it any other way because it kept me busy! 

After this year long process of creating a portfolio and then putting it all together in a portrait guide, I have learned a lot about myself as a photographer and myself as a learner. First of all, I learned a ton more about how to compose a nice shot and about lighting, framing and editing. I also learned how important it is to be organized with photoshoots and to not procrastinate on editing pictures, because it can all really back up!

Overall, the capstone process for me was a wonderful one. I'm extremely proud of the pictures that I took and the final manual that I created, and I hope that future photography classes at SLA will use my manual as a guide.

View my Instructional Manual here.

By doing unique art projects such as painting ceiling tiles or making some sort of jack-o-lantern, art became fun again. The only art that I practice outside of school is photography but as I continue with this class, I believe that I will become inspired by the other students in this class and by the other artwork that I will create. 

The hardest piece of work that I completed was the self-portrait drawing. I'm not good at making my pencil move in the strokes that my mind thinks of, but I did learn something about myself as an artist: I need to keep trying. Even though it was extremely challenging, I simply kept with it and ended up with a product that while I know is not spectacular, I am proud of.

I am excited to see what the second quarter brings. I am ready to open my heart to inspiration and create artwork that I take pride in.

Hosseini is an award-winning author; this book in particular spent four weeks as the #1 book in the nation, as well as being #1 on almost every national bestseller list including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and many more. This book also appeared on multiple end of year best-of lists, including the #1 Worldwide Bestselling title in 2008, Time- Ten Best Books: Fiction, Washington Post- Best Books of 2007 and more. Between “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and Hosseini’s first bestseller, “The Kite Runner”, more than 38 million copies have been sold worldwide.

This story is set in Afghanistan and begins in the mid-1900s, where you introduced to a teenage girl named Mariam, who lives with her mother. Through a series of heartbreaking events, Mariam finds herself stranded in a seemingly unfixable family situation, where her father decides to solve the problem by marrying her off to a middle-aged man whom she has never met before. However, since arranged marriage is a social norm in Afghanistan and women are given no power, Mariam must accept this new situation, no matter how alone she feels.

In the second piece of this story, readers are introduced to another girl named Laila, who has a pleasant family life and lives down the street from Mariam and her husband, Rasheed. Similar to Mariam, Laila is tossed into a situation of utter helplessness and family turmoil. Since the streets are unsafe and plagued with war, and since Laila is a women and has no rights to move to a new place, she is brought into the household of Mariam and Rasheed, where Rasheed marries her as well.

From this point in time, readers begin to see the relationship between Mariam and Laila unfold as wives of the same man. While they have a rocky start, their friendship soon grows deeply and in ways only possible in their situations. This friendship withstands lost loves returning, pregnancies, an extremely abusive husband and in the final test of friendship, the ultimate act of protection.

Throughout this entire novel, Hosseini makes a few themes extremely clear. The first major motif is the Afghan culture, which is unique, fascinating and heartbreaking at times and experienced through characters in the book. As readers are taken through the lives of these women, Hosseini paints pictures of weddings, the food, the country of Afghanistan, but mostly about the values of the culture, specifically the inequality of genders. He shows each of these themes throughout the story in invigorating ways using the stories of Laila and Mariam. The other major message explored is that of the bonds of friendship and family. From chapter one, Hosseini captivates readers with questioning of the value of relationships between relatives, acquaintances, spouses and even strangers; how far is one willing to go to protect someone they love?

There are countless ways that this book exceeded my expectations as an avid reader. I’ve always disliked books with either too much dialogue or too much description, but “A Thousand Splendid Suns” had a wonderful balance of both. Hosseini is creative and crafty in the ways that he uses description to speak on behalf of the characters, such as body language or a glimpse into the inner thoughts of characters, but also uses dialogue when words would be most effective. Also, if there’s one thing that I despise, it’s when authors add random plot twists which make no sense and do not benefit the story in the end. What was amazing about this book, however, was that the plot was unpredictable, yet the story made sense in the end. 

There were no major things that I disliked about this book, but the ending did not particularly sit well with me. Throughout the entire novel, Hosseini does so well with letting the reader into the lives and relationships of all of the characters, and does so in a slow way so that you feel as though you have known them for a very very long time. However, at the end of the book, I feel as though it was rushed and the relationships were kept at a shallow level and did not display the depth that was shown previously in the book. While that may have been a literary choice by Hosseini, it was the one point that felt unsettling to me as a reader.

This can be a heavy book for some people due to the difficult topics and issues presented. Challenging situations presented include suicide, abortion and graphic scenes of domestic violence and brutality, which can only be handled with a certain level of maturity. Therefore, I do not suggest this book for younger readers, only those who feel like they are ready to read a novel that deal with these matters. 

However, this book needs to be read. It is important. The themes are ones that are intertwined into the lives of every human, no matter how much they might notice them. While it works on a deeper level, this is also an marvelous piece of fiction writing with a captivating and enrapturing story, one that will leave readers wanting more.

And if you are one of those readers who want more, Hosseini recently released a new book, “And the Mountains Echoed”, which is next on my “to-read” list. Check it out here.

Journal #1:

Text from Othello, said by Iago, Act 5 Scene 1:

(aside) I have rubbed this young quat almost to the sense,

And he grows angry. Now, whether he kill Cassio

Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other,

Every way makes my gain. Live Roderigo,

He calls me to a restitution large

Of gold and jewels that I bobbed from him

As gifts to Desdemona.

It must not be. If Cassio do remain

He hath a daily beauty in his life

That makes me ugly. And besides, the Moor

May unfold me to him—there stand I in much peril.

No, he must die. But so, I hear him coming.

Throughout most of this soliloquy by Iago, he seems to be talking to himself.  However, I think that he is also giving the audience a view into his plot. I think that this would have been said in a quiet sort of anger throughout. Specifically, a pause and a sly smile after '...and he grows angry." in line 13. After that, he would use hand gestures for the audience to see how "he kill Cassio or Cassio kill him", and then a maniac laugh after "every way makes my gain." The rest of this soliloquy by Iago is simply said to himself in a very dramatic manner and in a very suspicious, plotting and evil tone. However, the last line of the soliloquy seems to be there specifically for the audience as well as for fellow actors whenever this was being performed. As Aaron said in class today, there was barely any time for the actors to work with their scripts, so this line also acts as a cue for the actors doing this play as well.

Journal #2

Bianca: Act 3, Scene 4 is when we first meet her. She also appears in Act 5, Scene 1.

1. Bianca observes that Cassio gives her a handkerchief, although she does not know whose it is, and asks him to copy the embroidery pattern. From her point of view, she is doing nothing wrong because she does not know the story or the plot behind this handkerchief.

2. When Cassio is stabbed, Iago says "Gentlemen all, I do suspect this trash to be a party in this injury," (line 87-88), indicating Bianca as the "trash". Basically , he is saying that Bianca has to do with the plan behind Cassio's stabbing. Then when he asks where Cassio dined that night, he asks Bianca if she is nervous to answer that, because he knows that Cassio was at her house, again indicating that he is trying to shift suspicion from himself onto her for Cassio's wounds.

3. If Bianca had known what was going on the whole time and if she had known the significance behind the handkerchief and the plot of Iago, she would not have taken the handkerchief. But since she was only present in the places that she was, she did not know the evil plot of Iago. If she had, she would have tried to resolve it. Therefore, when Iago asks her if she is nervous and she hears blame in his voice, she is shocked because she sees no possible way that she could have done anything wrong.

Journal #3

Iago

"Come, Emelia my love, let us go for a walk through the town," I said.

"My dear, spending time with you is always a joy," Emelia replied, "Where shall we walk?"

"Wherever the wind takes us. Maybe, we will be able to see my dear friend, Othello. I hear that he has been recently married!"

As we began to walk, I pondered what it would be like if we saw Othello and his bride. I’d heard from rumors of her fair and beautiful nature, a wonderful woman. I shook the thought aside as I cast my eyes towards my own wife and took her hand as we began to walk. It was a cool evening, I could feel the warmth drain from the air as the sun sank beyond the horizon. We were walking through the town when I heard a call from behind me, "Iago, is that you?"

"Othello, my dear friend!" I replied, as I cast my eyes to the woman standing beside him.

"Iago, this is my wife, Desdemona."

As she brought her eyes up to meet mine, it felt electric. Immediate heat rose to my face as I looked into the eyes of the most beautiful woman I had ever met in my life. I felt a surge of hatred for Othello who had married this perfect woman. I wanted her to be mine.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," she said.

Journal #4

1. In the beginning while trying to convince Cassio to drink, I'm going to be saying it in a convincing and persuading tone. Also, when I am talking to myself about my plot to get Cassio drunk, Aaron suggested that I actually talk to the audience so it's like I'm letting them in on my little secret, so I'll be doing that. Lastly, when Othello questions me about how the fight between Cassio and Rodrigo began, I sort of step back but when I say the line " yet, I persuade myself...." I'm going to take a step in like I'm sharing a secret.

2. I'm going to bring in a toga for me to wear. Also, I'll bring in a wine glass so that I can taunt Cassio while urging him to drink.

3. I think that our fight scene is what is really going to make us stand out-- Aaron helped us a lot to block it out and how to get the right sound effects, convey the right emotion, and just make it great all around. I'm excited!

Journal #5:

            I think that the most important line in my scene is my last line after I have delivered a soliloquy when I say “So will I turn her virtue into pitch, and out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all.” This is so important because it locks in the suspicion that the audience has had about Iago plotting this entire conspiracy against Othello. While performing this line, since it was the last line of the play, I took a small pause before the line to make it more dramatic and then said it full of passion!

            Overall, I really loved performing with my group. It went better than I expected actually, because when we got in front of the whole class, everyone sort of calmed down and we focused on performing it correctly and remembering all of the points of interest and acting techniques that Aaron had told us about. I’m very proud of the way that our scene flowed and especially the way that we blocked out the entire thing. If we had to do it over again, I honestly don’t think that we would have done much differently in terms of our performance. The only major thing that I can think of to improve the overall quality would be to memorize our lines so that we didn’t need to hold our papers with us.

            While performing the play, I understood the entire structure of the play more than I had in the book—mainly the way that Iago plotted, what Desdemona saw, why Othello was angry, and the relationship between Iago and Emelia. Also while performing/watching this being performed, I realized how many different emotions this play brings out in the audience—anger, humor, betrayal and disbelief.

It’s not easy being thrown into a situation where all of a sudden, you cannot comprehend anything. You are submerged into a new environment, a new culture, and a new language, and you are completely lost.

My whole life, I had constantly been in an English-speaking environment. Even if every person has their own American accent, I had been able to understand and converse with them. I had always been ordinary—speaking the native language and such. I’d always fit in, always blended into the normality of my surroundings.

All of a sudden, I was on the outside. The core thing that was needed to communicate, common language, was something that I did not share with the Nicaraguans around me.

I looked to my left into the face of a young child. “Por favor, señorita, ¿tiene dinero?” he begged. I shook my head numbly, unable to comprehend the words to explain to this poor boy that I was not allowed to provide him with money. I kept walking.

A man began shouting at me from my right, speaking so fast that I had no way to even get an idea of what he was saying to me. He kept repeating it, and he began to sound irritated.

“¿Por qué se mueven tan lento, poco chica blanca!” he said rapidly.

“I’m sor—lo siento, señor. I’m from America y no hablo ingles,” I said to him very slowly, in the best accent that I could muster.

“Chica estúpida. Tú no hablas español?”

“Lo siento, pero I have no idea what you are saying,” I replied.

“Me acaba de entregar su bolsa, ¿de acuerdo?”

“¿Cómo?

“¡Tu bulsa!” he shouted angrily, motioning to my bag.

“Oh, here. Sorry.” I said as I handed it to him and he put it on the bus.

“Americanos tontos…” he muttered, walking away.

All of a sudden, I was different. I stood out. I didn’t speak the language, and therefore, I felt like I didn’t belong. I was an outsider.

Feeling completely lost in terms of language was a new feeling to me. In my house and school, I spoke English. Everywhere I went, I spoke English with those around me and could communicate easily. I never felt on the outside because I spoke a different language than everyone else.

Not only did I speak English everywhere, I have always been confident in the way that I speak English. I never had a lisp or a stutter. I can formulate sentences and express my thoughts accurately and thoroughly. I speak properly to teachers, my family and my friends. I speak what is defined as “standard English”.

And suddenly, it’s like that was all tossed in the trash. I could not formulate Spanish sentences or think of the right words to express how I was feeling. When I did speak, it was slow, with lots of stops and starts. It was anything but smooth, and it was anything but what I was used to.  In “If Black English Isn’t A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” by James Baldwin, he writes, “Language, incontestably, reveals the speaker.” I found this to be very true through my experience. My lack of fluidity of the Spanish language revealed something about me—I was a “gringo”.

At this point in time, I spoke very little Spanish and could not follow a normal conversation. In an essay entitled “Hunger of Memory” by Richard Rodriguez, he writes, “My words could not stretch far enough to form complete thoughts. And the words I did speak I didn’t know well enough to make into distinct sounds.” To me, this quote is extremely relevant and describes how I was feeling in Nicaragua. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but I did not have the vocabulary to put it into complete sentences. I could not convey my point, and that was beyond frustrating to me.

After I was in Nicaragua for a couple days, I began to think about the experiences that I had with native Spanish speakers. When I was unable to understand them, I felt embarrassed. I felt like I stood out. I felt like I didn’t belong there because I could not communicate with those around me.

In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, author Gloria Anzalía writes, “There are more subtle ways that we internalize identification, especially in the forms of images and emotions.” From my experience in Nicaragua, I could not agree more with this statement.

There are so many ways to communicate in this world without ever speaking a word. Sometimes, you can gain a deep understanding with someone by simply sharing an experience with them. Sometimes it’s not even a word. It can be eye contact. Or it could be a smile. A nod. Language is one of the many ways that you can communicate with other humans, but sometimes you create more special bonds when no words are spoken at all.

By the time I boarded the plane back home from Nicaragua, I was at peace with the fact that the entire week, I was seen as an outsider. While there, I realized that even though I did not speak the same language as them, we shared experiences and feelings that bonded us in a way language never could.

Mmm. That was the best food I’ve had in a while. Especially that burger. Or the fries. I can’t decide, but I think that the burger was better. But then again, who am I to judge? I can’t even remember the last time that I had a McDonalds. Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time that I had my own money to pay for food.

Chicago is rough, man. It starts with your heat being shut off. Then your water. Then a notice telling you to pay your bills. And then an eviction notice. And then all of a sudden the city if fed up with you not paying and you’re out on the street. It’s not as bad in the summer because of all the tourists, but the winter is fucking cold and windy.

Hm. Maybe there are more fries in here… (digs). Yes! More salty heavenly fries at the bottom of the bag. I think that the McDonald’s worker gave me more fries on purpose. I guess he could tell that I hadn’t eaten a while. (eats fries)

I liked him—the worker. He didn’t look at me like most people do.

“Don’t make eye contact,” they whisper, “we’re not going to give him any money. Just keep walking.” It’s like people think that homelessness is contagious. If they come to close to me, they might catch it. Do you know how insulting that is? They think that they can regard me as trash because of my state. But news flash for you-- I’m still a human, and I’m trying to change my situation.

It was my fault though. And I fucking hate myself more every day for those decisions I made. Ya know, when you hear that trying drugs just once can get you addicted, most of the time you think “Yeah, right”, but now I’m thinking “Yeah. Right.” It happened fast. I’ve never had lots of money to begin with, so once I lost my job I was basically a goner. Hitting the streets was hard, but it made me realize that this is real. I’ve got to get my shit together.

But no. Not him. Not this worker. He smiled at me as I ordered my food and did not seem to shy away from me as I reached out to hand him the crinkled dollars that I got this morning.  But he wouldn’t take them. Can you believe that? He refused my money, and in turn handed me a bag full of food. I could see the grease spots of the bag.

“Enjoy your meal, sir,” he had said.

Nothing more happened then. I left with my food and money. He wished me a goodnight, and I told him thank you.

Turns out he gave me a happy meal. With a Shrek figurine.

This world is kinda twisted, don’t you think? I’m the kind of person who, if I had anything, would want to share it all with people who are in my position. But no, I have nothing to offer, especially considering that people won’t even take a kind word from me. I wish I had it in me to change the world.  

Thanks to this man, I have had my first meal in days. And furthermore, since I left McDonalds it’s like an internal fire has been lit in me.  Maybe it’s the warmth of the burger or the fries that have seeped into me. Or maybe it’s the way that he smiled at me and did not judge. Since I left that restaurant, this cold air hasn’t felt so cold any more.

            From my survey, I found lots of interesting information. When I was finishing up making it, I decided that I needed one last question. While I was trying to figure out what this one would be, I had a thought; I wonder how many people typically would remember a friends birthday if it weren’t for a facebook reminder? Pleased with myself for thinking of this question, I quickly typed it in, thinking that most people would respond with “Yes, of course I would remember a friend’s birthday!” Instead, my results spoke very differently. Turns out that 60% of people would not remember. To me, that is incredibly shocking. Because of that fact, I’m contemplating changing my birthday on facebook to a false date so a bunch of people wish me a happy birthday and then I get to laugh at them.

            From my survey, I also found the average time that people spend on social networking sites per day. The largest amount was that somebody said was 16 hours in total, which is astounding. The least was no time at all, and that was obviously from someone who didn’t have any social networking accounts. I tallied and found the average of my results, and created this chart:

            The most controversial question on my survey was “Have you found that you can express yourself better on social networking sites than you can in real life?” One of the best points that I saw was that when you’re behind a computer screen, you can think about how you want to articulate your thoughts and once you start typing words, you can always delete them if you haven’t posted them yet. Whereas in person, once the words are out of your mouth, you can’t take them back. However, a wonderful point that one of the responders posted was that “nothing on the web is ever personal or private, once it’s out there everyone can see it.” (here is an interesting article about that)

            One of the most interesting answers that I received, however, was this: “Better? No, definitely not. More carefully crafted? Sure. Those are different though.” Another one that can be discussed is when someone said “No. Social networking can sometimes remove the ‘human touch’ that is present in verbal communication.” Related to the concept of missing the “humanness” of a face-to-face conversation, one person answered “No, it’s difficult to communicate without using the non-verbals like body language, facial expression and tone of voice.”

Well, it’s time to make change. Throughout this entire process, I’ve been wondering what it’d be like to do a week without any sorts of social networking. And so, I decided to put this plan into action. Five of my friends and I (I tried to recruit more people, but my friends weren’t to keen on going an entire WEEK without facebook or twitter) started yesterday and are doing a week (May 28-June 4) free of these sites! Every day, we’re filling out a four question survey that I created which asks simple questions such as “How are you doing without social networking today?” and “Are you less distracted than you normally would be?” Results from this experiment will be posted next week.

            And so, the main question comes back: Is social networking good or bad? Through this project, I have become enraptured by both opinions, good and bad. I have heard excellent reasons for each of them, and I have certainly learned more about the topic itself. However, I only focused on a portion of the internet: social networking. With all information online, the use of google rather than textbooks, and the majority of communication happening on the internet, where is our generation headed? And once we become completely immersed in a technological life, will be able to get back out?

 Will we want to?

            While I was trying to promote my survey, I was also doing more research into the world of social networking and found that many businesses use social networking as a way to raise support, awareness and money. According to a reporter Debbie Miller, when marketers were asked if social networking was important to their business, 62% of them said, “strongly agree” and 28% “agree”. In addition, she made a chart about the pros of social networking in business:

• 39% of Americans spend more time socializing online than face-to-face interactions.
• 88% of teenagers say that they have seen someone being mean or cruel on a social networking site.
• 92% of American toddlers have an online presence, ranging anywhere from a single picture posted of them to an entire profile made in their name.
•  69% of teenagers admit to have put their physical location in a social networking status update.
• “It may be possible that young people who have no experience of a world without online societies put less value on their real world identities and can therefore be at risk in their real lives, perhaps more vulnerable to impulsive behavior or even suicide.” - Dr. Himanshu Tyagi, West London Mental Health NHS Trust
• Teens spend an average of nine hours per week on social networking sites.

•  59% of students on the internet say that they have used social networking to discuss educational topics.
• 60 million Americans said that they got help with major life issues from people on their social network.
• Social networking sites allow people to express themselves in ways that they cannot normally do.
• Through social networking you can connect with family and friends who you might not be able to talk to face-to-face due to distance and such things.

Many smart and educated people can argue the benefits of social networking without a problem. For one, social networking can bring people who have the same interests and/or ideas together. Also, for those who do not share the same opinions it is a good way to learn about new ideas and hear from other people’s point of view. Another reason that social networking can be positive is by way of spreading information. I am part of a service group in our school called buildOn and before we do a drive for a certain program or organization, I update my facebook and twitter status to raise awareness about the action that we are taking, and how my friends can help. As a result, people become interested as well as support our project. Here are some examples of that:

Leah Kelly

Red English

            “Yes… No I just have my physics exam tomorrow… Yes, I will study… I love you too Grandma, talk to you later. Goodbye,” I sighed with relief as I finally hung up the phone.

            “She talks for hours mom, and you know that I have a huge physics final tomorrow,” I said.

            “I know, sweetie,” replied my mother, “but she loves you very much and wants to talk to you.”

            Sighing dramatically, I knew that I wasn’t going to win this fight. Next Tuesday night, I would still have to talk to my old and decrepit grandma on the phone, just as I have done for the past four years. Grabbing my backpack and physics textbook, I headed up to my room for some peace a quiet in order to study.

            Walking up the stairs, I realized that I don’t actually mind talking to my grandmother. Truth is, she’s the only one that really listens and sounds interested in what I have to say. She asks questions, always wanting to know more and congratulates me on my successes and is sad with me over things that have not gone my way. Even though she doesn’t have a say on what I do in my life, she’s one of the ones who I most want to please.

            My mom always teases me because of my study habits. Many people study best when they are sitting at a desk with their textbook open, lots of light and taking notes. Even if they don’t like that, most juniors at least would like to sit somewhere comfortable, like a couch or beanbag. I, on the other hand, prefer to lie flat on my floor with my textbook somewhere near my head and food close to me in case I get hungry. That is why, when I opened the door to my tiny bedroom, I threw my backpack to the side and flopped on my floor, opening my textbook to page 104. Balancing Equations, I thought, Yuck.

            “Yummy, mom! Thanks so much for the cold cereal!” I said sarcastically as I poured myself a bowl the next morning.

            “Don’t speak to me in that tone of voice,” she replied.

            I sighed. “Sorry, I guess I’m just really stressed about this exam. If I don’t get a good grade on it, it’s possible that I could fail and have to retake the course over the summer. It’s just a lot of pressure.”

            “Don’t worry honey, you’ll do amazing. Now eat your Wheaties. It’s the breakfast of champions, you know.”

As I walked into school, I saw some of my classmates studying for the exam. I wish I could study, I thought, but then I would need to be a nerd. God, come make me unpopular so that I can have time to study. Please, fill me with knowledge for this exam. (“Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe topful of direst cruelty.” – Act 1, scene 5 page 17)

“Maya!” I hear Steven scream from down the hall. I feel a smile spread across my face as he comes towards me. “Hey!” he exclaims, “You ready for this exam?”

“Ehhh, not really. I’m not feeling too confident about it all,” I answered.

“That’s alright, I know that you’ll be able to get a wonderful grade. Well, I gotta run. I’m meeting John for a quick study session before class. Do you want to come?”

“No, I have to go talk to Michael before class.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure, but he said that he needed to see me. I have no idea what it’s about.”

“Well, I’ll see you in class. Bye, Maya,” he says with his incredible smile.

I keep walking down the hall and to my locker. As I’m exchanging books in my locker, I notice Michael walking towards me. Well, let’s just get this over with.

“Hey Michael,” I say.

“Maya. I really need your help.”

“Okay… With what? Do you need to borrow my notes for physics or something?”

“No, but it does have to do with the exam. Just listen to it all before you say anything, okay? So the other day, I happened to come across the Ms. Jones’ copy of the test for today… and it has all of the answers on it.”

Oh gosh… this is not going to be good, I thought. But I kept my promise to him and stayed silent.

“Since I didn’t have a chance to study last night, I figured that I would just use the answers from the sheet to help me on the test,” he continued, “But the problem is is that I can’t be caught with the sheet. But I know that you sit in one of the few desks that has the opening underneath it. And well… you know… maybe you could just stick the paper there? Then when you copy all the answers you can just let me copy your paper… I mean, you don’t have to do it, but I was just thinking because it would promise you a perfect grade.”

I need to think about this. I’ve never cheated on homework or a quiz before, much less an exam. But I really did need this grade to be an incredible one. Plus, so many people were counting on me. My grandmother, my mom, John…

“Yes. I’ll do it,” I heard the words come out of my mouth before I had thought it through further. “Give me the paper.”

He handed it over to me. “Look, Maya, if we end up getting caught…”

“No! Stop! If you just stop worrying then we won’t get caught. Chill out.” (“We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail.” –Act 1, scene 7 page 23)

Walking to class, I didn’t feel all that guilty. Everyone who was wishing me luck on the test and telling me that I’ll do very well will be right: I’ll get a splendid grade and pass this class with flying colors. I found myself smiling stupidly as I entered the classroom, giddy with the thought of the reaction that my mom would have when I would bring home my test.

“Well hey again Maya. What did Michael need?” asks Steven.

“Oh, hey. He… he just needed my notes. That’s all. No big deal.”

“Then why are you smiling like an idiot? Did he ask you out or something?”

“Haha, you’re so funny,” I said sarcastically. “I’m just feeling really good about this test now.”

He smiled at me. That smile that gives me butterflies every time.

“Students, please put away all of your notes. The test is about to begin,” Ms. Jones instructed us as she started handing out the tests. “Take one, pass it back.”

Receiving my test, I’m suddenly very glad that Michael had given me the cheat sheet. I realize that I know nothing on the first page, which I’m sure is the easiest because it’s multiple choice. Unfortunately, I’m not a very sneaky person, so cheating is going to be tricky. However, Ms. Jones is also as blind as a bat and oblivious to everything. And so, maybe I can still pull this off. Okay let’s start this… “1. An airplane accelerates down a runway at 3.20 m/s² for 32.8 s until is finally lifts off the ground. Determine the distance traveled before takeoff”. Oh gosh… yeah I don’t know how to do this. Let’s see… okay it’s b. That’s what the cheat sheet says anyway. D= 1720 m. Sounds about right.

            I finished my test quickly. I mean, how could I not? I had all of the answers right in front of me. I saw Michael peeking over at me, and so I angled my paper in a way that he could easily see my answers. To keep suspicion away, I doodled in the margins while he copied so it would look like I’m still working.

            “Psst—Maya!” he whispered, “I can’t see #7. Just hand me you paper really quick. Ms. Jones isn’t looking. I’ll give it right back, promise.

            I quickly handed him my paper, willing him to hurry up. Of course, just at that time, Ms. Jones decided to make her rounds.

            “Give me my paper, she’s coming!” I hissed urgently.

            “If I do now, she’ll see me. If she asks where your test is, just say you dropped it. Or never got a paper. Or you ate it. Just say something! I can’t risk handing it to you now.”

“Oh my gosh! Give me my paper! She won’t see you, I swear. I need my paper in order for us to be able to pull this off!” (“Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil. –Act 2, scene 2 page 29)

Thankfully, he handed me my paper just in time as Ms. Jones passed my desk. I pretended to be checking over my work. Hmm, yes. D = 1720 m that looks correct. Then she passed. Michael signaled to me that he didn’t need my paper any more, thankfully. Now I can just sit here and wait for this period to be over.

After class, Steven caught me first. “How was it? How do you think you did?”

I smiled at him. “Very well,” I replied, “And you?”

He returned my smile. “I did my very best, and I think that my hard work of studying paid off. I just wanted to say, I know that physics hasn’t been the easiest for you this year so I’m so excited that you think you did well on this test. I’m so proud of you, Maya.”

“Maya!” I heard Michael yell. I sighed.

“I gotta go,” I said to Steven, “See you in third period English.”

Stalking over to Michael, I confronted him. “What do you want?”

“Gosh, you’re mad. I just wanted to say thank you for helping me out today. I really needed it, and now I’m sure that I’ll pass that class. I thought that I would feel really guilty about cheating, but I actually feel fine. Alright, well I’ll see you later!” He was practically bubbling over with happiness.

“Wait!” I called after his retreating form. He turned back. “Look, we already did it and stuff… and I know we can’t go back and change it, but I’m just letting you know that our happiness might not last. I mean, if we get found out, we’re going to get in a ton of trouble.” (“Naught’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content, ‘tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.” –Act 3 scene 2 page 45).

“We’re not going to get caught, Maya, it’s okay,” he replied as he turned and left.

I took my phone out of my backpack to call my mom. I couldn’t stay at school. I needed to go home. I felt sick. I’ve never been a cheater. Not in anything. Not in school, sports, relationships or anything… and now all of a sudden I made a stupid decision to cheat on the final. And I feel terrible about it. But I can’t tell anyone. Maybe if I just leave it, I’ll feel fine after a while. The guilt can’t be too bad, can it? I guess that I will find out soon enough.

“Mom? Yeah, I just feel really sick… can you pick me up? Yes, I already took my exam. Yes, I think I did well on it… Okay I’ll go to the office and tell them I’m sick… see you soon.” And I hung up.

Walking to the office, I started to think about how I would face my mom. I would just tell her that I think I did well. That’s all. She wouldn’t ask more about it, would she? I’m sick. She wouldn’t want to make me talk more than I have to.

Once I told the nurse that I was sick, she had me lay on one of those really uncomfortable “beds” that school nurses tend to have in their offices. Once my mom got there, I got in the car and we drove away. I pressed my head against the seat and squeezed my eyes shut, willing the nausea to leave me. Why was this bothering me so much? I’m scared that I let all of the people who were betting on me down. Well, they wouldn’t know that. They will think that I got a perfect grade, that I’m a great student. But the guilt inside of me is eating me up already, and it hasn’t even been an hour since I turned in my test.

The first thing that I did when I got home is flopped on my bed, waiting for sleep to over-take me. Soon, it came and I began deeply dreaming. I should have known that this was going to happen because I’ve watched too many movies, but I began to dream of the cheating instance. When I woke up, I was covered in sweat and shivering. I heard my mother come up the stairs, so I tried to compose myself quickly.

“Honey?” she said as she peeked in the door, “Okay good, you’re up. I was just coming in the check on you because when I checked on you earlier you seemed to be having a rough time sleeping… you seemed to be muttering something like ‘No, give it to me, give it to me Michael! What if she catches us?’ and stuff along those lines. (“Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One—two—why when ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when one can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” –Act 5, scene 1 page 84). Are you sure that you are okay, sweetie?”

“Yes, mom, I’m fine. Just feeling really sick. But I’m feeling better than when I was at school,” I say guiltily.

“Well, I’m glad that you’re feeling better because grandma wants to call you and ask how your physics test went!”

I groaned. This cannot be happening. Why did she have to call? Why can’t I just forget about it? Why did I cheat? Why, why, why…

“Hello, Grandma… Yes my test was today… I think I did very well, yup…” and on and on went my conversation with my grandmother. Yes, the questions were hard. Yes, I did study hard. No, my mind did not blank. Yes, I think I got a good grade. Finally, she was all out of questions. Now it was time to lay on all the compliments of how much she loves me, how proud she is of me, and what I wonderful granddaughter I am. Thanks, grandma.

After I hung up with her, I started down the stairs to get some food, but stopped short when I heard my parents whispering in the kitchen.

“It was like she was going crazy! She was whispering and sweating and thrashing in her sleep… I asked her about it, but she said she was fine,” (“She is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from rest.” –Act 5 scene 3 page 89) whispered my mother.

“She’s alright, honey. Just sick. She’ll be as good as new soon,” comforted my father.

I couldn’t do it anymore. I just needed to tell them.

“Mom, dad?” I gasped out.

“Honey! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

I decided that it’d be easier to just say it straight, without having to explain context. That would cause me to choke up and not be able to get my words out. “I cheated.”

_______________________________

My parents brought me to school the next day so that we could talk to Ms. Jones together. Naturally, she was angry, but she agreed to let me retake another test that she would come up with. The catch was that I had to take a six week advanced physics course over the summer in order to ensure that I know all of the material that was needed to pass the course. Other than that, the only other change was that I now had a terrible reputation with Ms. Jones, who was actually one of my favorite teachers.

Michael, on the other hand, got a little harsher punishment since he did not own up to what he had done. He was suspended for two days and required to take the same six-week course as I was. I know for a fact that the teacher will not be putting us next to each other.

In the end, I told Steven about what had happened. He didn’t freak out, but he was really disappointed in me. I hate it when I disappoint people; it makes me feel like a stupid person. From then on, he never gave me quite the same beautiful smile that he used to.

From that Wednesday in June, I learned a very valuable lesson. Guilt will consume you, and not let you out of its nasty grip. You may think that you will be okay with doing something, but I assure you that you will not. A guilty conscience cannot rest. Oh, and I also learned in my summer course that d does in fact equal 1720 meters.

                        Treinta + y + cinco = treinta y cinco

            Now, here is a chart with the numbers on it:

Source: http://www.donquijote.org/spanishlanguage/numbers/numbers1.asp

            First, if the time is exactly on the hour, you can say “Son las _____.” In the blank goes the number of the hour. The only exception to the rule is when it is one o’clock. When it is that time, instead of the prefix being “son las”, it is “es la”.

            The next thing that you need to know is specifics that you can say if it is a certain time. These are some specifics that you will need to know:

1.     On the hour, like I said earlier, you simply say “Son las ____” If you want to get fancy, you can tag an “es punto” on at the end, which basically translates to “on the dot”. For example, “It is 9:00” would be “Son las nueve (en punto)”

2.     Before half-past, you can simply say the hour and then the number of minutes. For example, “It is 4:19” would be “Son las cuatro y nueve.”

3.     At quarter after, like I said earlier, you say “y cuarto” (CUIDADO [Be careful]: It is very easy to mix up cuaTRO (four) and cuaRTO (:15)) For example, if I want to say “It is 8:15,” then I would say “Son las ocho y cuarto.”

4.     At half past, like I said earlier, you say “y media.” For example, if I wanted to say “It is 11:30,” I would say “Son las once y media.”

5.     After half past is where it gets tricky. You can either stick with the original way with the hour and then “y” and then the number of minutes, but you could also do it another way. The most important word to know in this method is “menos” which means “minus”. If I wanted to say “It is 3:47”, I would say “Son las cuatro menos trece.” Do you see what I did? This literally translates to “It is four minus thirteen.” To show both methods of saying it, I will now give an example. To say “It is 6:50”, you could either say 1) “Son las seis y cincuenta.” 2) “Son las siete menos diez.”

6.     At quarter of, like I said earlier, you can say two things. The most common one is to say “menos cuarto”. Again, “menos” means minus and “cuarto” means quarter past. Therefore, that would be __:45. The other way to say quarter of is simply saying the hour and then “cuarenta y cinco”, which is 45. For example, if I wanted to say 7:45, I could either say 1) “Son las ocho menos cuarto.” 2) Son las siete y cuarenta y cinco.” The most common way, however, is the first one.

In this video, Leah wants to know whether or not to bring her umbrella to school so she asks what the weather is like, and finds that it is rainy, so she brings her umbrella.