What factors of conflict do you think cause groups to divide? Personally, I believe, as quoted by Robert Kiyosaki, “Most people have a price. And they have a price because of human emotions named fear and greed.” The fear of instability motivates us to work harder and achieve stability. However, once we get that stability, we think of all the better things that could be had. There, the emotion of greed is installed. No matter how much we chase, we are never satisfied. Most of us even going as far as breaking moral rules to satisfy our greed.

In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, young boys are stranded on an island. The boys have to learn to survive by themselves. First, they chose a leader of the group. Ralph, who is chosen and eventually leads the pack, is one of the oldest in the group. Jack, a leader of a choir group, is fed up with Ralph leading. He says, “Hands up,” said Jack strongly, “whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?” (127) Being a former leader himself, Jack doesn’t sit well with another person leading his group. From this example, we can see that fear and greed are both key emotions. Jack fears that as Ralph leads them more and more, the choir boys he once lead, will only take orders from Ralph. Furthermore, Jack was the leading person for hunting. However, it shows that he was greedy for more power and wanted to ultimately be in control of everything. Because of this, he eventually broke from the group and began his own. The term, “While the rich get richer, the poor get poorer,” exposes the greediness of humans. It shows the growing gap between those who have more and those who have less.

The Korean War was a conflict that claimed 2.5 million people’s lives.  According to The History Channel, on June 25, 1950, some 75,000 soldiers of the North Korean Communist army, advised by the Soviet Union, crossed the 38th parallel and invaded pro-Western Republic South Korea. This conflict would soon be more than a battle between the two Koreas. By July, America had entered the war on behalf of the South. As far as American officials were concerned, this dilemma could have  sparked a third World War. Quickly, America wanted an armistice signed with the North Koreans, scared that this war could trigger WWIII. From this example, we can see that both greed and fear play a role in this situation. First, the North Koreans invaded the South because of greed for power and control of the Korea as an whole. Secondly, America tried to sign an armistice with the North because they feared a greater war.

Having chosen the leaders at the start of the book, Piggy wanted to help in a task. However, Jack responded with, “We don’t want you,” said Jack, flatly. “Three’s enough.” Prior to saying that, Jack said to Piggy, “You’re no good at a job like this.” Pointing to moments like this, readers can conclude that Jack isn’t like other leaders. Instead of wanting his followers to like him, he insults them. From the start, Jack was greedy for control and insulted a fellow comrade, without valid reasons, to get his foot down. He was eager to consume all the power.  Similar to Jack, the North Koreans didn’t see South Koreans as comrades. Although they lived in the same land, they shared different beliefs. The North Koreans wanted full control of the land and similar ideology to be shared.

According to BBC.com, although an armistice was signed between participants of the Korean War, no peace treaty was ever issued. Therefore, the Korean War hasn’t officially ended. However, there has been an agreement from both sized to build a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the 38th parallel to equally divide the two Koreas in half. Despite that, tensions are still high between North and South Korea. Joint military exercises between America and South Korea are still being practiced today. Furthermore, the North Koreans throughout the years have tested countless nuclear missiles and displayed their military might through army parades. With this example, we can conclude that fear is once again a key emotion. America and South Korea have joint military exercises to prepare for any conflict with the north. On the other hand, the North Koreans test nuclear missiles, host parades showing their million man army and artillery in fear that the rest of the world wouldn’t take their isolated country seriously.

Work Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books, 2006.

BBC News, Special Reports “BBC NEWS.” BBC News, BBC,

news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/asia_pac/03/the_korean_war/html/default.stm.

Editors, History.com. “Korean War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009,

www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war.

Kiyosaki, T, Robert “A Quote from Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” Goodreads, Goodreads,

A slap on my chest woke me. I heard my father quietly telling me to wake up. I didn’t protest because I knew today was the day. I hurried out of bed and got dress. When dad lit the candle, I could see the bamboo suitcase filled with clothes already packed for me. He rushed me downstairs and went into the kitchen to give me two banh mi before walking me to the bus station. I looked up, the sky was still dark, I was still able to see the stars. I looked around me. There were no carts, no doors opened, no one outside. It was still early. I didn’t want to leave. Vietnam, it was the only place I ever knew.

As the bus came closer into view, I could feel myself shake. If I left, I would leave my prized possessions, my childhood friends, my sense of comfort, and most importantly, my family. The ones who’ve kept me safe all these years. The ones that have helped me get past the Vietnam war. Then what would be left of me? I’m nothing without my friends, my neighborhood, my family.

The bus came and I boarded it. I rushed to the window seat and looked out the window. Through the headlights of the bus, I could make out my dad’s face in the dark. I still remember his blood-shot eyes, the sadness in his eyes. He didn’t dare look up. I wanted to scream, to run back into his arms, to cry, but I knew none of that was useful. It was my job to lead the path for my siblings, to prove my neighbors wrong, to make it to the Land of Opportunity.

I’m telling you this now, son, because I want you to understand the struggle I went through to have a better life. It is important that you take every opportunity given to you because many kids in other parts of the world don’t have such opportunities. You might think I talk too much and everything I’m telling you is useless and full of crap but it’s not. When we go back to Vietnam this summer, you’ll understand all of it. There are kids who are homeless and out begging for money. There are old women working 14 hours a day just to earn a little money. I left Vietnam because living under communist rule is never going to be a good thing. When we visit your aunt, she can tell you all about it and you can deem if my lectures and teachings were useful.

Days into our trip in Vietnam and I could already see the disturbance in my son’s eyes. Unlike America, there were no crossing lights, there were stray dogs, street food that weren’t the cleanest, and the most disturbing for him, I believe, was the amount of roaches and rats running around. He seemed to have changed. No blatant disrespect, he was less picky with food, more grateful for family, and most importantly, he began saving his hard-earned money.  I’m glad now that I told him about my past. I wanted to leave it in the past but I guess everything worked out for the better.

Foreign

“Hey Preston, do you want to go play outside with the other children?” The woman in front of me asked.

She scared me. Her body, centimeters away from mine, made me feel tiny; like David and Goliath. It was as if her closeness to my personal bubble wasn't enough to make me uncomfortable. I could not understand a single word she was saying. She continued on but I couldn’t find a clear answer. Torrents of tears started flowing rapidly from my eyes, causing my vision to blur, nose to clog, and left a salty taste in my mouth. This was the first time in my entire life that I felt pressured.

“Did you guys watch the new Spongebob episode?”

What were they talking about? The only show I knew was Old Master Q. They all moved to sit at the table in front of me and began to discuss about the new episode of this foreign show. Again, my vision began to blur, my hands sweaty, and again, I could taste the oh-so-familiar salty liquid course through the interior of my mouth. This was the first time in my entire life that I felt clueless.

When I was in kindergarten, I hardly understood any English. Whenever I went to school, I wouldn’t communicate with any other kids because I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I felt lonely in school. Kids would speak to each other and discuss  T.V shows and toys while I sat in silence and listened. Everything I did was in Cantonese or Japanese: music, shows, my communication. The word was clueless, the cluelessness transformed into knowledge. As the world changed, so did my knowledge. I was starting to get exposed to things that were once foreign to me.

“Go wish your aunts and uncles a Happy Chinese New Year,” Mom said.

Her voice, along with the voices and conversations of the crowded dining room, gave me a brain freeze. I began to walk towards my family members on the other side of the room. My hands shaking, breathing unsteady, eyes focused on the ground. I had no idea what to say. It’d been a year since I used those phrases. I’d been exposed to so much English, that I’d fallen in love. I’d forgotten so much Chinese that I could barely pass the Chinese course I was taking.

“新年快樂!” Aunt Lisa said.

I chuckled nervously. “新年快樂!” I replied.

She waited patiently for me, red envelopes in hand. My mouth opened, then shut. I looked up quickly at her tense gaze and hurriedly averted my eyes elsewhere. My hands began to sweat again and my mouth began to dry. I regained my posture, taking a few deep breaths, and quickly excused myself.

“I have to use the bathroom, I’ll be right back. Auntie.”

This was the fastest I’d ever ran in my life. I rushed past the herd of people and shoved my way through until I reached the men’s bathroom. I stared in the mirror, thinking about the disappointment I’d face; the sneers, the looks of failure. The phrases began to resurface in my head. They don’t see the Preston that struggles with balancing two languages or the young boy who felt clueless and pressured throughout elementary school. They see the young boy who was able to speak multiple languages and is self-confident and strong.

I rinsed my face and stared into the mirror. I was going to wish them a Happy New Year and begin to balance my love for all languages, and attempt to speak all the languages I’m exposed to with the best of my ability.

1. Vanadium V23

2.  Vanadium is a hard, silvery grey, ductile, and malleable transition metal. It was first founded in 1801 in Mexico.

3. I got the idea from google after looking up pictures that had Vanadium in it.

4. I first had to sketch it, then put it on a sheet, draw it backwards on styrofoam, and then print it with paint. Finally, I pressed the paint-filled styrofoam and let it dry.

5. If I did this project a second time, I would make sure my styrofoam was deeper in.

6. I enjoyed painting it because I liked the feeling of rolling the paint.

From the critiques on my slide, I learned that color and font is a very important factor in design. Through color, we can catch people’s eyes, and changing the font up will make the slide less bland and boring. Furthermore, I removed my name from the slide because I wanted the viewer to focus more on the background picture, and not get distracted by my name being there. In addition, I changed the color, font, and placement of my slide because I learned that color plays a strong role in design and eye-catchers. Moreover, I used the clouds as a natural resource to put my quote on. By doing this, I allowed eyes to focus more on the quote and background, opposed to focusing on my name.

The research I did helped polish my slide because I used natural lines in the image to direct audiences’ eyes where I want them. In addition, I changed up the font to make a less bland slide, and color to catch eyes. I used presentation Zen, and other desgin websites to make my slide better. By studying how to make a good slide, I found a new interest in design and edit.

In conclusion, I enjoyed working on this project. It helped me learn a lot about design and where to place things. There is a lot of things I need to work on and this project has pointed that out. Some things I could have worked on are choosing a better font, and using better color.

Hi, my name is Preston and my favorite hobby is photograhpy. I started taking photos as a hobby since the age of 12. Every time I put my hands on a camera, I feel calm and at peace. I developed the hobby of taking photos ever since my brother bought me a camera for my 12th birthday. The love for photography grew when I signed up for Instagram. It was really a good format because I could share with people the photos I took and take pride for my accomplishments.

I chose this photo because I really liked the beauty of the picture. It follows through my quote that pictures are stories I can’t describe. In addition, I thought that the horizon was really eye-catching and beautiful. In addition, the veritcal lines help lead audiences’ eyes to the main attraction, the horizon. Furthermore, I believe that the variety of colors is another reason why I chose this photo. The different colors help catch people’s eyes and grabs attention. I really enjoyed making this presentation. Thank you guys for taking the time to listen!