Spike Lee is without a doubt one of the most well known black directors in film. His works commonly deal with issues of race, with the protagonist always being a person of color. The movie Shrek on the other hand is a comical film with the protagonist being an ogre, however when the film is thoroughly analyzed one can see slight factors that when amplified could make it a Spike Lee film, the main factor being that the main character is hated by a white town and attacked, for being physically different. For these reasons when tasked with re-visioning a film in the eyes of a new director, Shrek and Spike Lee seemed like automatic fits.

For the re-creation to be successful the focus on Shrek being “colored”(green) would have to be amplified in this case and those attacking him would be remain white as they are in the film. This is shown in the storyboard by Shrek being quite literally the only colored character. The arms and legs of those in the mob are all white and colorless. Since Spike Lee is also known for limiting the information the audience has about those that aren't the main character, in the storyboard the only face shown is that of Shrek. The mob attacking him is represented solely by their footsteps and weapons, as those are the only things that add importance to them in Shrek’s life. Furthermore there would be the use of diegetic and nondiegetic sounds to represent the two different moods in the storyboard. When the mob is on the screen there is no background music, instead the rumbling of their feet, weapons, and the combined shouts of their voices will create the sounds that represent them. Shrek on the other hand will have an upbeat song playing in the background during his time on the screen, to symbolise the peace and tranquillity he is experiencing. The camera will rarely be still, as common for Spike Lee films, with it shakingly following the mob via dolly while gentle and smoothly following Shrek in his house cooking and eating. All this will be occuring in New York since all Spike Lee films occur in urban settings. Shrek’s house will be located at the bottom of a tree in a park to further solidify he is an outcast from this white society. The storyboard ends with the weapons belonging to the mob moving closer onto Shrek slowly, since Spike Lee commonly uses background music even in slow parts of his film there will be a sad song letting the audience know that Shrek is now at the mercy of the mob. Originally this scene takes place in the beginning of the movie and in this case it will as well, this will allow it to set the mood for the film and show the racial tension in the setting of the film.

Sophomore year during health class Ms. Martin said; “Stress is the biggest problem S.L.A students face.” Two years later when tasked with making a capstone these words would once again come into my mind, and lead to the creation of a Stress Clinic. The purpose of the clinic was to be a place students could come to meditate, relax, and essentially ease their minds. The main principle that fueled the clinic was positive education, the belief that schools should not only focus on the academic success of their students, but also their mental health and well being. The clinic itself taught me that working with people is not easy. Getting people to attend the clinic was difficult. This tied in with the fact that my fellow classmates where also holding their capstone events during the the same time period, added another hurdle for me. All these hardships led to a myriad of meetings where no students attended. The capstone process was one that has taught me numerous things ranging from what stress is on a psychological level to how to teach and hold a group of people’s attention. Even with all the difficulties and frustrations that occured I cannot lie I enjoyed my capstone. Having an opportunity to work on something that interests me was a big and enjoyable change from normal schooling.

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cCQFnNrJdE28mF-KTOukRSkyTXlwa9sJHdT7ibUtLjo/edit?usp=sharing

Since the beginning of times there have been questions that people have sought answers for. These questions range from how humans were made to what will happen in 10 years. This curiosity has led humans to creating numerous possible answers about any topic that crosses their mind. One of the sources of these answers is the idea of religion. Religion is a complicated factor in the lives of people, but in reality religion is a manmade concept.

Looking at any religious piece, one will find numerous controversial and inconsistent statements. However, there are already numerous articles that thoroughly explain these points. If one were to look at the most undiscussed argument that could be used to show that the construction of religion was by man, it would be the personality of god. In numerous religions, God displays disappointment, anger, regret, happiness, and numerous other human emotions. How is it possible for an all powerful enlightened being to display human characteristics and still be labeled as the deity it is supposed to be? The attributes given to God, a divine deity, are  similar to those possessed by his imperfect creation, humans. It can be concluded that God’s attributes are a reflection of his creators and a direct representation of how man perceives themselves. Furthermore, the male father figure traits given to God show that God was designed around the male father figure.

Religion being manmade does not disprove the fact that the bible and other religious texts were constructed 100’s of years ago. Archeologist have found evidence to show that the first handwritten bible was produced in around 1380. Over the years the bible has been re-written and translated into numerous other languages. However, its followers still believe in the usefulness of it when there are clearly outdated principles. While God is a reflection of man, the bible is a reflection of the time when it was originally written. Due to that time period, there are numerous principles stated in the bible that would seem absurd if they were ever brought up in modern times. The main examples of this are found in bible verses that could be labeled as sexist. For example, In Timothy 2:11 it is said; “I permit no woman to teach or have authority of man.” This verse is clearly a reflection of the time when the bible was written. A time when women were below man and were seen as nothing more than an object of sex. In 1380, for it to believed that a woman has no right to teach a man is extremely logical. This leads to bible verses such as that of Timothy 2:11 to be seen as controversial in the equality striving world we live in. Yet logical to the sexist, racist world that was around when the bible was being constructed.

In conclusion, religion being created by man is not an idea that most lead to pure chaos and self doubt. Instead it should bring questions as to how the human nature truly is. Why do humans constantly need answers? Why do humans fear not having answers to the point where they must create answers? The system of religions have been around for centuries. It is possible that as time goes on the same way the beliefs of the Greek became labeled as myths eventually the same will occur to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and so forth. However, when or if this happens, how will it be handled? With man’s source of answers being lost, will humans fall into complete anarchy, or will they start to see how the beings they have worshipped for so long are merely reflections of themselves?

Why This Is My Best Possible 2fer

Out of all 7 2fers I have written this year I would like to say this is my best. What leads me to this conclusion is I feel like I was able to stray from the past mistakes I have found. To do this I reflected on the 2fer where I discussed my most common mistake. Also I had the courage to attack a very controversial topic that could cause a large amount of controversy. Attacking such a topic forced me to have to be very thorough with my research so that my points would be valid and not fall during a conversation. Because of these methods I have used I believe that this 2fer is the best 2fer I have written so far and am proud to submit it as such.

Works Cited

Thomson, J. Anderson, and Clare Aukofer. "Science and religion: God didn't make man; man made gods." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

English Bible History: Timeline of how we got the English Bible. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

Fish, Stanley. "Is Religion Man-Made?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 June 2007. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

"“Aren’t All Religions Man-Made?”." Probe Ministries. N.p., 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

Comparing  The Taming of the Shrew to Mean Girls

While reading the “Taming of the Shrew”, readers will notice that the book shows the use of a significant other as a status symbol. The same can also be said for a movie that aired more recently; “Mean Girls”. In both pieces the reader/viewer becomes introduced to the notion of a character needing another character romantically to be a status symbol, these characters go to great lengths to obtain the person that will boost their social status. This shows how relationships are more about increasing one's standing on the social pyramid then anything.

In the “Taming of the Shrew” the character attempting to boost their social standings is Petruchio. Petruchio wishes to become wealthy and successful and to do this he looks at the institution of marriage as his gateway into the land of prosperity and riches. To be more specific his gateway is the “shrew”, Katherine. This is best shown by Petruchio’s words in Act 1 Scene 2, when his servant Grumio explains to him the situation of Baptista and the marriage of his children.

“I come to wive it wealthy in Padua, If wealthily then happily in Padua”

(Act 1 Scene 2, 76-77)

This same mentality is also exhibited in the movie mean girls. Regina George the lead antagonist finds her social status threatened by another character Cady and her interest in Regina’s love interest, Aaron. The struggle for who will be higher on the pyramid is at it’s peak in the halloween scene. In this scene Regina shows her alpha status by kissing Aaron right in front of Cady.

The comparison between Petruchio and Regina is extremely interesting. While Petruchio is attempting to obtain a better social status with marriage/relationship, Regina is attempting to maintain her social status. These forces that fuel the actions of these characters are enjoyable yet tie to a much bigger picture. Regina and Petruchio both feel a need to be high on the pyramid. However their positions differ therefore what the viewer learns also differs. Shakespeare has crafted a character who represents a mentality found in some countries. The mentality that a relationship is a mean to better one's own life. While in “Mean Girls” a case of a relationship being in need to, still possess ownership of your spot on the pyramid is crafted. Both pieces open the mind to the bigger question of why one must always be at the top, why is the bottom not good enough.

Another example of Shakespeare depicting the true nature of relationships is found in Act 3 Scene 2 when he describes what Kate is to him.

“I will be master of what is mine own.She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,My household stuff, my field, my barn, My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything. And here she stands, touch her whoever dare.”

(Act 3 Scene 2, 235-239)

In this scene Petruchio starts to list all the things that Katherine is to him. However looking at it in depth will show another level. Petruchio is also listing the things that he will own or acquire by obtaining Katherine. All these things add to his wealth  and can only be obtained through his relationship with Katherine. Looking at Mean girls the viewer will also scene that deals with possessions.

“ You know Aaron really does like you. He's always talking about how unusual you are and it really pissed me off. Like this one time, I got this really expensive doll house from Germany, but I never played with it. So my mom wanted to give it to my cousin. But even though I didn't want it...

Cady: You begged your mom to let you keep it?

Regina: No. I threw it down the stairs.”

In both of these sections the characters are speaking metaphorically. Petruchio going through a list of things Katherine is to him is a nod to what Katherine is bringing him through their relationship. Regina reminiscing on the destruction of a childhood toy is a nod towards how even if she is not using Aaron she needs him to be there, and would rather destroy him then let someone take him. Both quotes may seem very different but they are focusing on the materialization of others for one's betterment. Petruchio has, figuratively and literally, added Katherine to the list of material items he is going to possess and Regina is showing how she would bring about the destruction of Aaron, her toy, so that no one else could have him and be a threat to her.

“The Taming of the Shrew’ and  “Mean Girls” are two pieces that upon first glance seem to be only for entertainment, however upon deep analysis the viewer will learn more about society. The viewer is able to see what a relationship means and in this case it is power. In both pieces two characters cling onto the person they are in a relationship with, in an attempt to maintain their social standings. This urge to remain at the top causes the characters to even materialize the person they are in a relationship with so that they’re higher social standings will be safe. Essentially “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Mean Girls” are two amazing pieces that give perfect examples of how relationships are not about love, but instead getting higher on the pyramid.

Storks is a disney movie that tackles the topic of babies and answers the question of where they come from. As presumed from the title you can see that the movie is focusing on the idea that storks deliver babies. This movie is very well animated and highly entertaining. Across numerous review sites it has scored very high with a 7/10 on IMBD, a 63% on rotten tomatoes, and a 89% from Google users. These ratings are well deserved by the movies comedy that is able to not attract children but also able to keep the adult audience interested. However it is 2017 and movies cannot be looked at on the surface anymore. We need to analyze them on a deeper more conscious level. This is why there are tests such as the Bechdel and Mako Mori test exist. For those of you that are not aware the Bechdel texts proposes the question if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The Mako Mori test analyzes to see if there is at least one female character, this female character must also get her own narrative, and this narrative is not about supporting a man’s story. For this review of the movie Storks I will be using the Mako Mori test.

In short sense the movie Storks does pass the Mako Mori test. One of the two main characters is a female dubbed Tulip. Tulip is in search of her home as to her being a failed Stork delivery, and she is also on a mission to deliver a newborn baby to a home. This narrative arc given to Tulip allows her to pass the Mako Mori test and in the eyes of the Mako Mori test be considered a non gender social stigma conforming movie. However I feel as though the Mako Mori test is not the best way to test a movie on this level, therefore I have created my own test. The Social Stereotypes test.

The Social Stereotype test analyzes the main female characters in a movie and to pass this test they must be able to go against the stereotypes that have been assigned to females. When Storks is looked at through these eyes the movie fails horribly. Throughout the movie the main female character Tulip is deemed unfit for a real job, that is done by men, and is given the job of managing mail, because it is a simple task which she cannot mess up. This aligns with the stereotype that a woman cannot correctly do the job that a man will do. However this is not the main thing that causes Storks to fail this test. Tulip’s constant emotional instability and breakdowns cause her to conform to the stereotype that females are weak and unstable. However this doesn’t make this movie a bad movie. It must be kept in mind that the target audience is small children that most likely do not even know what sexism is and for that audience the movie does a superb job.

I sit on the concrete floor playing with the dogs. There are small prickly dark green cacti right next to me. My curious mind touches the spike on the cactus, I know that it will hurt but I still do it. The feeling of a sharp needle grazing your fingertips slowly starts to wash over me.  I slowly push more and more till I can feel the cactus prick inside me. I release my finger and the dark red blood that I held is slowly oozing out. All the dogs, but one, start to bark at the sight of blood. Peace, the dog not barking, looks at the large brass gate that shields our property from the outside world. The gates’ hinges that have rusted from years of being beaten by rain water slowly start to turn right. As the gate is being opened I see an elderly figure holding a letter. My grandmother slowly starts to walk towards me with glee. With every step it seemed as though the 60 year old woman wanted to hop or skip. As she gets closer I notice a smile on her face. Every single white tooth is shown and the sunlight reflecting of them almost blinds me. When she is within arms distance of me she lifts my three year old self into the air and spins me around. Soundless words are uttered as I am spun till she places me done and says with a big grin; “You’re going to America.”

America. The average African yearns for a chance to enter this beautiful country, but I was different. From a young age I had been told that my parents are in America getting ready for my arrival. This repeated story that I was told made me start to hate this country. At the mere mention of the name America, my blood would boil as if a flame was burning deep within me. Matter of fact there was a flame. A flame of hatred for the parents I did not know, a flame of hatred for the parents that left me, their first and only son for this country. A flame of hatred for America, the country that took my parents. As my grandmother placed me on the ground her joyfulness slowly morphed into confusion. Her face showed confusion as to why my 3 year old self seemed upset but her eyes showed understanding. Her deep brown eyes showed a perfect reflection of me and in that reflection I felt as though she understood everything. As I stood there she took her rough, strong hand, wrinkled from years of working in the farm and patted my bald head. “Nipa trew baku”, she said. One week,I had one week to decide what to do. Would I stay in Ghana, the country who has grown me and I have come to love, or would I go to America the country that I had grown to resent, yet was called the “best” country in the world.

The next morning I woke up greeted by the rays of sun that had sneaked their way through the window and landed on my face. As I lay there staring at the bright pink ceiling analyzing the cracks that ran through the paint as if they were a massive spider web, I remembered. I needed to make a choice. The weight of this decision caused me to feel as though I was in the middle of two planets. The gravitational pull of both planets splitting me in half. On one planet was the warm rays of the African sun, the loud, annoying, and yet loveable barking of dogs, and my grandmother edging me to embrace that world. But the other planet was foreign. It held nothing I knew, it held nothing of grave importance to me. Yet there was one thing, Family. At the center of the planet there was a man and woman edging me to accept this world, a man and a woman holding open their loving arms waiting for me to embrace them. Inside me I was being told by a voice to go to the man and woman, it felt right, it felt like that was where I am destined to be. As I slowly stopped resisting and allowed foreign world to pull me in a scent slowly creeped its way into my nostrils. The scent of jollof, a simple dish that is made up of rice and stew. This scent brought more than a yearning in my stomach for the dish, but memories. Memories of the times spent with my grandmother. Memories of the constant times I had grown bored and played with the cacti. Memories of Peace, the dog that I have always loved. “Be didi.” These words knocked me from my trance like state and as I look towards my open door, I see my grandmother holding a wooden spoon in her hand. It is now that I realize the scent of jollof was not an imagination but a reality. The scent bombards it’s way into my room blocking all my senses and causing my mouth to water. “Be didi”, my grandmother says these words once more, urging me to come eat. I slowly get up from my bed to go brush my teeth. There may be a choice at hand but for now the only thing I care about is jollof.

The day continues as normally as most African days were. I ate, I played, then I ate again. A repetitive pattern I had grown accustomed to. However, for the first time the pattern seemed unique. It seemed as if I did everything for the last time. It was the voice. The voice was telling me to leave my home, leave the dirt roads, the deep brown eyes of my grandmother, and to leave the jollof. Once again the man and woman made their way into my minds. Arms outstretched waiting for me. However this time there was a difference. The woman had the deep hazel eyes of my grandmother. As I stared into the woman’s eyes I saw myself. I saw myself embraced by the man and woman being held as if I was the most precious object in the whole world. Around us, we were surrounded by numerous foreign monsters slowly making their way closer and closer to us. The figures stopped embracing me and grabbed my hands. The man held my left hand. His rough strong muscular hands showed experience and years of hard work. The man stared at the foreign monsters with a look of protection. The man brought a sense of security. His rough strong hands and the daggering look he administered to the monsters brought upon an unspoken promise. A promise that I would never experience pain, a promise that I would be guarded. The woman holding my right hand was not looking at the monsters, in lieu she was staring at me. Her deep brown eyes pierced my being in the gentle way the cacti would pierce my fingers. The only difference was that unlike the cacti, who brought a sharp pain, the eyes delivered a deep love. This love added with the protection brought by the hands caused the man and woman to slowly start changing. Not a physical change like that of a butterfly in metamorphosis, but an internal change in opinions that I felt. The man and woman were no longer foreign strangers pulling me into a foreign world. In contrary the man and woman where now my sources of love and protection against the monsters that I will face. The man and woman where my family.

The average student has been taught to always “aim for the A” in school. This belief will essentially give the mentality that to be the best, one must get a top grade. As a result, students  look at those that get the A as if they are they are better than their peers. However this belief is completely false because, Ambition is the key factor in defining a person’s position on the social pyramid.

There are many examples of individuals whose ambition mattered more than their formal education. According to Forbes, Li Ka-Shing is the richest man in China with a net worth of $31.9 billion. Mr. Shing is also one of the most influential/powerful people on the Earth, but the most amazing fact is that Mr. Shing is a high school dropout. At the tender age of 12 Mr. Shing left school to work in a watch strap factory, by 14 he worked in a plastic trading company. At 22 Mr. Shing had opened his first factory. Mr. Shing has become one of the most powerful people on the earth yet he holds no degree or even a highschool diploma. If Li Ka-Shing was placed in front of a trigonometric equation he would most likely not understand it, yet in the business world he is a rich and successful man. Even though Li does not have the ability to solve a quadratic equation, the one thing that Li has is Ambition. Li’s ambition has pushed him to the very top and allowed him to obtain both a high net worth and self worth, even though he has never graduated high school.

With ambition you can go much farther than what your grades predict. “I studied everything but never topped...but today the toppers of the best universities are my employes.” This quote is from the richest and most successful man on earth Bill Gates. Bill Gates has a net worth of $81.7 billion, and is one of the founders of Microsoft the world’s largest  PC software company. When discussing people that are at the top of the social pyramid, Bill Gates is a name that will be said at least twice. However, when discussing the highest grade point averages his name will not alway come up. Mr. Gates has never released his actual grades, but he has been quoted on numerous occasions saying how his grades were never the best. Society teaches that getting the best grades results in one being at the top of the social pyramid. But Mr. Gates proves that teaching incorrect. He himself has admitted to not getting the best grades, yet the majority of people in America know who he is. Since Bill Gates never got the best grades, his standing on the social pyramid should not be at number 1. But somehow it is. The reason for this is simple; Mr. Gates did not let his imperfect grades limit him, instead he used his ambition to succeed to fuel his trip to the top of the social pyramid.

If we all stopped to think about it we would realize that success is not a matter of grades but ambition. Society has implanted the idea that grades represent a person’s self worth and value. But this is nowhere near the case. It is possible for a student to have a C average and still become a multimillionaire. It is possible for a child to have little to no education, and become one of the most powerful people on the face of this planet. The true factor that defines a person’s self worth and value is their ambition. Ambition is what pushes a person to become great. Ambition is the key factor in defining a person’s position on the social pyramid. Those that dream big will be able to reach the top when their grades are not that great. Likewise it is also possible for a person to not dream big and have a lower position on the social pyramid because of the little ambition they have.

No matter the situation there will always be a leader. For a student the leader is the teacher, for the teacher, the leader is the principal, and for the principal the leader is the superintendent. No matter what the position is there will always be a leader. Without a leader there are no rules, no order, and no peace. Without a leader there is no civilization and only savagery. The reason for this being is because, for any group to be successful there has to be a leader that is willing to take on the responsibility of managing the group and leading them onto the right path. There must always be a leader that is willing to do as the name implies, lead.

In William Golding’s Lord of The flies, the question of what would happen when a group of small boys are trapped on an island is answered. The boys are trapped on the island after their plane crashes and there seems to be no adults in sight. After the boys all find each other as well as introduce each other, the book states that Ralph says; “Seems to me we ought to have a chief”(27). The boys, who barely know each other, all quickly agree with this idea and vote for a chief. It is declared that Ralph, the one who gathered the boys, is the chief and leader of the band of boys. From the fact that the first action the boys took as a collective was vote for a leader, the reader can see that the young boys understand that since they are in a foreign location where many, if not all, of them know little to nothing about how to survive on this island, a leader is needed. The boys are able to understand that without a leader many of them will die and not be able to succeed on the topic of leaving the island,  because as the saying states “United we stand, divided we fall”. And to truly be united there must be a leader that can help the group to become one. Therefore, the boys pick who they believe to be the most responsible amongst them, which they believe to be Ralph. The reason why they believe Ralph is the most responsible is because he is the one that united them. As many of them awoke on a strange island they heard the sound of a conch shell. This shell was blown by Ralph, showing that he was intelligent enough to comprehend that the sound will draw any other survivors. By doing this Ralph is already managing the boys, and leading them on a path that he believes will allow them to escape the grasp of the island, before he is even elected leader.  

If the reader delves further into Lord of The Flies they will reach a part where there is great tension on the island. This tension causes Jack to say; “You go away, Ralph. You keep to your end. This is my end and my tribe.” At this point in the story Jack, the only person that when the voting occurred in the beginning of the book was able to run for chief against Ralph, is gaining followers through the misadventures of Ralph. Ralph has set up attempts to escape the island, such as the signal fire, but they have all failed. When he attempted to organize the boys and build huts he also failed. Whilst Jack on the other hand has accomplished something that the boys have greatly wished for; hunting down and killing an animal so that they might be able to dine on meat. Under the leadership of Ralph the boys have constantly failed in everything they have done, but Jack has been able to lead his small group to success. This notable difference in the leadership of Ralph and Jack causes the boys to slowly start moving toward being ruled by Jack. From the beginning Jack has managed a group of choirboys, as the reader can see from page 19 where it says; “The creature was a small party of boys, marching approximately in step in two parallel lines….the boy who controlled them was dressed the same way….when the boy reached the platform he shouted an order and they halted” Before all of the boys are able to vote Ralph as a leader, Jack is already demonstrating that he possesses leadership qualities. Therefore it is only fitting that after Ralph has failed as a leader the boys move to Jack who has shown that he is able to manage a group of people, and even lead those people to success.

This belief and principal is also shown in the real world. After the American Revolutionary war, a new independent country faced the task of choosing a leader. According to historical records found on history.com; “On this day in 1789, George Washington becomes the first and only president to be unanimously elected.” As the American Revolutionary war proceeded George Washington became a name that everyone knew. Washington led the to be country to many victories, and essentially became a legend. Therefore when the founding fathers of America decided that there should be a president it only seemed logical for him to be president, and as history can show Washington was unanimously chosen. Much like Jack, Washington had already proven that he could lead groups to victory during the war. During the battle that occurred in the war such as the battle of Trenton and the battle of Princeton, Washington demonstrated his talent of leading groups to success, by leading the continental Army to victory. With these major victories the citizens of the thirteen colonies are seeing a person that is bringing success at a time when many people were losing hope of winning the war. From this the similarities in Washington and Jack increase even more. Washington is showing he has the potential to be an amazing leader, as Jack did, and some people even believe that if Washington was not chosen for president then the country would have rebelled and moved to Washington.

Looking at the most recent presidency, the 2012, presidency, Obama was running for re-election after successfully being elected president in 2008. Obama wins this election and is able to be president for another four years. According to a website called Chicagonow.com one of the reasons why Obama wins is because; “He has a strong incumbent in a country that is searching for a leadership miracle worker.” The fact that the website chooses to use the word “strong” shows that even when given the option of removing Obama the country will not choose to release him from office because we as a country are searching for a “leadership miracle worker” and Obama has a strong incumbent during this search. This means that Obama was essentially becoming the miracle worker that the country of America was searching for. After four years under the leadership of Obama, he has led the country on what the general public accepts as the right path. Under the rule of Obama America had greatly improved from it’s previous position. Therefore unlike Ralph, Obama is being a successful leader that is quenching the thirst that America has for success. So when the choice of voting for him a second time is given it was logical for the country to vote for him.

Ralph, Jack, George Washington, and Obama are all extremely similar people. Each single one of these people are examples of times when a society/group has noted that to be successful there must be a leader that is willing to take on the title of being responsible for a group and leading the group to success. This major characteristic that is found in these people allowed them to be the leaders they were. Ralph at first showed this trait and had a brief period where he gave the group he was in charge of ideas to success, therefore Ralph led them on the right path for a very brief time. Whilst Jack, Obama, and George Washington were able to lead their respectable groups on a pathway to success, which is shown by both Obama and George Washington being reelected, and Jack’s leadership never being ended by another leader.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of The Flies. New York: Perigee,2006.

"The Story of the Founding Fathers' Debate Over Presidential Power." Utne. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

(Slams down pencil) I’ve been working on this stupid worksheet for a hour! It’s so pointless! When will knowing a bisecting angle ever be needed in life! School is so dumb they spend hours teaching us topics that we will never need. Why don’t they teach us how to do taxes! That’s actually important. Like if I don’t do my taxes I can get arrested, if I don’t do my homework I will just get like a C! Getting a C is still passing though! Homework makes no sense. When will teachers realize that the more work they give us, the more work they have. Then when they are stressed from grading things they let it out on us.

Okay, I won't lie,up until 7th grade, homework was useful. Adding and subtracting is needed in the real world, but when will I ever have to know the Pythagorean theorem. Then teachers are like “It helps reinforce what we learned in class” It really doesn’t! I forget everything the moment I leave the class, then when I get home I just look at the sheet in confusion.

I’m tired of this stress. I'm only fourteen but I have so much work to do. I have to get good grades, do my chores, have a social life, go to church and actually have time for myself. Everyday is a playlist that is on repeat, maybe once in awhile a new song is added that changes the playlist a little. (Sigh) But other then that it’s always the same thing over and over. I'm just tired of this. The worse part is that you think I don’t do anything. You always say; “All you have to do is go to school, and you don’t even get good grades” It’s just never good enough. No matter what I do it’s not good enough. Every grade I get, takes hours of work and pushing myself. Just because I got a C doesn’t mean I didn't try. Maybe I fought for that C and that was the best I could do. But you don't care you only care about the product. But the agonizing hours of work that were put into the product is what matters. But you don’t see that. You didn’t see when I was taking the test hoping that every answer I wrote was right. No all you see is the red ink that represents every mistake that was made.

“Wu co ehou, ye wu hon yie sedia umo be pe wa sem”

“Ahni me ye”

It was the first day of school, and I was sitting in my living room. This was before we had changed the floor so the floor was a very dark reflective hardwood. I remember looking at my reflection in the floor when my dad said that sentence. Ever since I was 5 years old he said the sentence in or native language “twi” because I knew almost nothing in English. He told me that, “When you get to school you should be good so that people will like you.” You see my family was very new to America at this point. My father and mother had both left Ghana after my birth and came to America, in a attempt to give me a better life. I myself spent only spent 3 years in Ghana before I was brought to America. In Ghana I learned the language of “twi”. The same way a baby grows up hearing English, and picks it up was how “twi” was for me.  I attended school in Ghana which only furthered my knowledge of the language. I became “Ghanaian” in the sense that all I knew was Ghana.

I nodded my head to show that I had both heard what he said and understood. My dad then drove me to the school so that I could start my first day of kindergarten. The car ride to school was silent but emotions raced around my mind as if they were baby bunnies that had consumed sugar filled carrots. I was afraid to be in a new environment, but happy to make new friends. I was sad to not be able to do nothing all day, but excited to finally be going to American school.

“be biara en cosu ye!”, Good luck! This is what my dad said as I left the car, but I ignored him and looked for room 27 the place that my dad had told me to go. As I walked to class I started to realize how scared I was. I had never been in this environment before and it truly terrified me. As I searched for room 27, this fear started to bring tears to my eyes. Eventually I ended up on the floor silently crying till a lady came to me. She sat on the floor with me and patted my back in an attempt to comfort me. After 5 minutes of her consoling me she rose up and helped me up as well, then she asked if I needed help.

“I room 27” my broken English was a product of what I had seen on T.V. and the little I had been taught in Ghana. Luckily the lady walked me to the classroom which for some odd reason was located on the second floor. Once we entered the class the lady gave me to the teacher and explained why I was late. After the lady left the teacher asked me what was my name to which I responded;

“Opoku”, then she said

“Where are you from?”

“Ghana.” I replied. The teacher then nodded her head and told me to wait for the ESOl teacher to come take me. Eventually the teacher, a man that I would later call Mr. Owens, arrived. He then took me to a small little room on the third floor where a variety of little kids where. The room contained kids, of a variety of ethnicity. Mr. Owens guided us into all sitting in a circle, then we all introduced each ourselves and started playing games such as Hokey Pokey.

It wouldn’t be till first grade that I would realize E.S.O.L stood for English for Speakers of Other Languages. Mr. Owens taught us the language of English by using games and music. But while he was teaching me English I realized that he was also indirectly teaching us how to be American. The games and music where American games and music, this caused me to start listening to american music, reading american books, and of course speaking the american language. I was truly becoming American, but only in school. At home, or even with my family, everything was in Twi. This was mostly because my parents were fluent in twi so in order to talk to them I could only speak twi. At school I found myself acting more and more American while at home I was acting Ghanaian. It was as though the moment I entered my house an internal switch was flipped from American to Ghanaian.

I started to realize that Language is the basis of your identity. Language is more than just words, it is a collection of letters that when put together in a specific matter, and said in a specific matter reveals who you are. In every country you can identify where someone is from based on how they speak. For example it is possible for a Philadelphian to identify a Texan based on their repeated use of the words y'all and their accent. The way the Texan uses specific words has allowed him to be given the idea of what we call a Texan. This statement is supported by a quote Rita Mae Brown once said; “Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people came from and where they are going.” Thus proving that language is the basis of our identity because both the words we use and the way we use them can reveal ourselves. Our accents show that we are foreign, our abbreviations show that we are southern, and our slang show that we are young.

The you and the world project was a very fun project. I enjoyed doing it because it made me feel like I was making a difference. The only problem that I had with it was that the time frame for such a big project was small so a lot of things had to be rushed. Overall I feel like one of my biggest successes was the bake sale because I was able to raise over $200. The thing that I feel like I could’ve done better is trying do my interview in person, because I attempted to do my interview over the phone but the autism society wasn’t picking up.  

My original research went very well. I was able to get a large amount of info from the website of the Autism Society, I was also able to get flyers from them. If I were to do it differently I would order autism awareness shirts and sell those to raise money instead. The reason why I would prefer to sell shirts is that I feel like they would last longer and would be better than the flyers since people most likely threw away the flyers.

My topic is Autism and as I stated in my first blog post. Nobody really knows a lot about it. This is one of the reasons why I chose this topic the second reason is that it is a topic that hits home with me. Scientists are researching what the possible cause of Autism is and if it can be prevented. All this researching has led the general public to see it as a disease. This is wrong I personally consider autism a mutation that can have different effects depending on the level of the spectrum it is on. This article supports my belief, yet the general public has no idea what Autism is. Therefore I decided to raise money for the Autism society. This society uses its donations to spread the awareness of autism and to provide for people with Autism.

To raise money I held a bake sale and passed out flyers. The point of the flyers was to spread knowledge on what Autism itself is whilst the point of the bake sale was to raise money while educating the school. I raised a total of $245.

Here is one of the flyers that we passed out. After buying something from the bake sale the buyer would receive a flyer.

Here is the cake that we sold slices of. The cake says Autism Awarness on it

To change the general public's view on Autism is a very difficult task. But I believe that by having a bake sale to attract attention and speaking to the buyers about Autism when they arrived was a very good way to at least educate some students in SLA. As I was doing this project I have learned more about children with Autism. I learned that they have a ¨disability¨ that allows them to succeed farther than others in specific categories. I also learned that we need to expand our knowledge on topics such as autism. If you simply only listen to the news about autism then it will sound like autism is a disease that is causing major problems. This is very wrong because after conducting some research I learned that if a person has Autism that is on the law part of the spectrum it is possible for you to not notice that they are autistic. This project has allowed me to feel very accomplished because I feel as though I have successfully spread the knowledge of what Autism really is.

Annotated bibliography

Autism. A mental condition that 1 in every 65 people have. Children with Autism are separated from society. They are outcasts because they think differently. They act differently because they process the world in a way that we ¨normal¨ people cannot comprehend. Yes, Autistic children do things that the general public perceives as ¨weird¨, but they are truly intelligent. There have been numerous cases when Autistic kids have excelled in a subject. For example: I myself have seen Autistic kids that are amazing at math. This means that they aren’t different if anything they are a advancement in the human brain. But then why do we fear them? Why do we fear people that have shown the capability to have more efficient brains than us? Because we humans fear what we don’t understand. We fear what has been labeled different.

Source for image: https://learningneverstops.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/communication-difficulties-in-autism-my-personal-view/

By conducting this project I plan on showing the public that kids with Autism are simply just normal kids. Every single person in the world has a different way of processing info and so do autistic children. I myself have an autistic sibling. My younger brother was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. Living with an autistic child has taught me a great deal. Yes at times my brother can go crazy, but when he puts his mind to something he accomplishes it. You see up until the age of 5 my little brother did not talk in any place outside our house. This led people to believing that he is a mute. In school he simply sat down and stared blankly into the darkness. This led the teachers to not believe us in any way when we said that he does talk. But one day it changed. One day he went to school and said good morning to his teacher. He sat in his seat and did every task the teacher gave him. When home he brought up memories of things that had happened years ago as if they were yesterday. He wrote the whole alphabet a though he knew how to and successfully counted to 50. This was amazing. A child that did not utter a single word in public was now having full conversations with strangers and proving that he had an outstanding memory. After this day I researched autism and learned that kids with autism do not understand the world in the same way we do. They are completely normal but they see the world differently. Sometimes this is good while other times this is bad. A child having autism can be a serious problem if the autism is not detected at an early age. Some signs that a child has autism are no babbling or pointing by age 1, no response to name, and excessive lining up of toys or objects. Kids with Autism are extremely intelligent human beings that perceive the world in a different manner.

Source for image:https://mcb.berkeley.edu/courses/mcb61/

Sources for info:

"Autism Fact Sheet." : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.  http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm

"Learn the Signs of Autism." Autism Speaks. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/learn-signs

!Hola! ¡Bueños dias! Science Leadership Academy está en cincuenta y cinco de la calle veinte y dos, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Está cerca de Trader Joe’s y 7/11. Nuestra escuela es pequeña pero chevere. Hay quinientos estudiantes y treinta y tres profesores. Hay cuatro plantas en nuestra escuela. Tenemos que usar la computadora para todas las clases. Nosotros tenemos último disco volador, béisbol, baloncesto y muy más. Último disco volador es nosotros muy popular deportes. El entrenador es principio Lehmann. Nosotros Practicamos aperturas siete en la mañana en punto. Estudiantes muy muy encanta disco volador en menos mitad de escuela participa en este deportes.

Mi parte favorita de Science Leadership Academy es las computadoras. Para mí es perfecto para aprender.  Nuestros estudiantes nos encantan las computadoras como niños. Los estudiantes de noveno grado van al The Franklin Institute. Visitamos cada miércoles. Lo pasamos bien. Todas clases en SLA son divertidas y interesantes.Mií favorito es Inglés. En mí clase tenemos que leer To Kill A Mockingbird y Macbeth.También aprendemos en historia la información nueva. Aprendemos todos los días. Los profesores enseñan muy bien. Nos encantan nuestros profesores. Trabaja duro. Somos una escuela fantástica en Filadelfia. ¡Qué chévere!

En el escuela de Science Leadership Academy nosotros tenemos muchos profesores. La profesora Giknis enseña la clase de ingles. Enseña muy bien.  En la case de ingles nosotros leemos. El profesor Todd ensaña la clase de historia y es bastante estricto... Es una broma. El profesor Todd es tranquilo y muy divertido.  En la clase de historia nosotros participamos activamente. La profesora Sessa es nuestro profesora para clase de Bioquímica. Profesora Sessa es muy divertida y chévere. En la clase de Bioquímica nosotros trabajamos computadoras leemos libro de texto.

Hay muchos cosas SLA que hacer mí amar ella. Todo desde las clases al deportes y actividades, SLA da todos un estudiante necesidades. Yo encanta todos en SLA y no puede decidir en mí favorito cosa. SLA es all positivo con cero defectos. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA es comida en la clase y la libertad. En conclusión SLA es muy divertida, educativo y tranquil.

Yo: Me llamo Opoku. Tengo catorce anos. Soy de Ghana pero vivo en Filadelfia..

Él:  Eres llamo Luis-Manuel. Los ojos cafés el pelo negro. Él gusto ver la tele y comer. No le gusta nada ir a la escuela, estudiar, practicar deportes y ayudar en casa.

Ella: Le gusta cantar, leer, hablar por teléfono, salir con la novia. No le gusta nada correr ayudar en casa tampoco escribir.