Tajnia Hussain Public Feed

The Cat in the Hat into a Horror Film

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Reel Reading · Giknis · B Band on
Tajnia Hussain & Athalia Tan
​
The Cat in The Hat, is a film based off of the book, that portrays the story of two children named Conrad and Sally spending their day with Cat in the Hat. This film is quite an enjoyment for children and exudes of fun and no rules or boundaries. The actor and costume of the Cat is a tad bit intimidating and has a terrifying of a face so we wanted to create a horror film trailer for it. Since the film came out in 2003, it already has an old-fashioned aesthetic which is very convenient to turn into horror type elements for a trailer. The Cat in The Hat himself looks very intimidating and his costume, facial expressions, and laugh don’t seem to be very “fun” to an age group as us so we used these elements along with multiple different shots in the trailer to make him look like he's the villain. Only one time did we use a filter on the Cat’s face, in the very beginning when introducing him, to make the frame look darker and which would make it fall under a horror film genre.

At the beginning of the trailer, it shows the landscape of a swing, swinging on its own, along with the production company title. This is sort of an introduction to the trailer already, automatically giving the audience horror film vibes. In the background there is dramatic music playing, an instrumental score, that is played throughout the trailer. Mainly when the Cat is chasing the children and when ruining their home. Most of the scenes are in color, accentuating the children’s book element but also showing how bright the kids are and how dark and twisted the Cat is. Black and white and dark tones are only used when Conrad goes into the closet and when introducing the Cat. This gives this sense of darkness, adding tension to what will happen next. The background music gives the trailer some suspense. 

We also included wording throughout the trailer, with the horror trailer theme that was provided from iMovie. This gives a horror movie vibe, making the audience to be at the edge of their seats, wondering what will happen next. During these times there was also non-diegetic very slight piano music playing, which is a continuous method used by many directors of horror films. Along with this, there was an establishment of the setting in the very beginning with close-up shot-reverse-shots of the town and the panning out of the kids, when they are left alone after their mother leaves, as well as the panning out and zooming in of the rain, the windowsill, and the exterior of their home.

When the Cat in the Hat was “torturing” the babysitter, this tremendous fast non-diegetic orchestral music was added to show that he is out of his mind. This music was also used towards the end when displaying the treacherous acts of the Cat, such as him pulling out needles and knives. The specific scenes that we used were ones that we thought would be suitable for a horror film including ones of the Cat’s companions, Thing 1 and Thing 2 violently attacking the babysitter. The Cat’s facial expressions and looks are already frightening in many scenes and we purposely put suspenseful music at those times. One scene was when the Cat was going down the stairs, we chose this scene because it demonstrated a low angle showing that he was superior to the kids. 

Many of the shots of the kids are selected medium and close up shots to demonstrate facial expressions and actions of Conrad and Sally to prove that the Cat can be scary. This includes scenes of them screaming, the high angle shot of them going up the stairs when first encountering him, the high angle shot of Sally looking up at Thing 2 on the ceiling, and when the Cat/Thing 1 and 2 were ruining their home. The buildup to when they first saw the Cat was made to be suspenseful, which is why it is a lengthy 30-second scene of Conrad slowly opening the closet door and then suddenly snatched inside. This was kept without music because it contributed to the quiet element and sudden boom in the end in a horror genre. 

We hope that you enjoyed our twist of The Cat in The Hat as a horror film. We put together many different cinematic and theatrical aspects to help us achieve our goal. Enjoy! :)

Tajnia Hussain Capstone

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Capstone · Giorgio/Shagin · Wed on
​For my capstone, my very first idea was that I wanted to give back to my community. I wasn’t aware of what this was yet until the end of my junior year. When I gained knowledge about the global refugee crisis and what was going on in Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar, I wanted to make a greater impact. I reached out to a refugee resettlement program here in Philly, HIAS Pennsylvania. I contacted the director and set up various meetings with the education coordinator to set up my capstone project. Over the course of nine months, I spent over 90 hours preparing and completing this project. I worked one-on-one with a group of young refugee children between the ages of 5-13 at Gilbert Spruance Elementary. Throughout this time, I got to know each and every one of them, built bonds and relationships, was a mentor and helped build their English and homework skills. I learned about their journey here to America and their difficulties back home. 

As I gained all this knowledge, I decided to create a documentary but after many technical difficulties, the content I collected was not of good quality so I decided to take another route and take excerpts of their stories and include it in my awareness presentation. Along with the volunteering I completed, I was apart of the Braskem Accelerator program and pitched to the company so I could get funding to give back supplies to the refugees at Spruance Elementary. I was among three individuals who received full funding and additional funding. I ordered books of all ages, basketballs, soccer balls, and jump ropes, to send home to the kids. I filled book caddies of various books to each family so they could build a mini-library of their own. The last component of my project was to raise awareness about the global refugee crisis so I created a 30-minute presentation on Prezi breaking down the various crisis’, the resettlement process, and the interviews I had of the refugees. I presented to all grades and also recruited students to volunteer at HIAS Pennsylvania next year for their ILPs/capstones. Overall, I am very proud of how my capstone turned out and educating others about what is happening around the world that need to be addressed. 


Global Refugee Crisis Presentation: 
The book caddies that I put together for the refugee children.
The book caddies that I put together for the refugee children.
Some of the refugee children I worked with.
Some of the refugee children I worked with.
Some of the refugees exploring their mini-libraries.
Some of the refugees exploring their mini-libraries.
Seraj, a refugee from Syria, playing with the soccer balls I provided to HIAS.
Seraj, a refugee from Syria, playing with the soccer balls I provided to HIAS.
Presenting about the global refugee crisis to a group of sophomores.
Presenting about the global refugee crisis to a group of sophomores.
Presenting about the global refugee crisis to a group of seniors.
Presenting about the global refugee crisis to a group of seniors.
Presenting to freshmans and juniors.
Presenting to freshmans and juniors.

Street Harassment

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · E Band on

Introduction:

My goals for this essay was to address the very important issue of street harassment. I hoped to make this essay a mix of creative and analytical content and I achieved that. I wanted to incorporate research and valid statistics to make everything stronger. I also added a personal story of mine to justify my argument. Overall, I think it was very successful and I acknowledged everything I wanted and explained my claim with good supporting evidence.


Advanced Essay:


In some, way, shape or form, we have all experienced violence. It is because violence is a large aspect of our society. Violence is the government in war, the environment we grow in, the media and what we learn from our parents or our surroundings. At a young age, we learn these things and we pick it up tremendously fast and it tends to stick with us for the rest of our lives. But this can change if people are influenced positively. In today’s world, a certain form of violence affects our women, and some men, on a daily basis; street harassment.

Street harassment is when a woman, in most cases, are cat called, violated with obscene comments, requested for their number, or treated with disrespect based on their outward appearance. In a 2014 study, it was recorded that 65% of women have experienced street harassment; 23% were sexually touched, 20% were followed, and 9% were forced to do something sexual. In another study, out of 811 women, 99% stated they experienced street harassment. There are laws that protect us from being street harassed but it is not among the laws that are taken seriously and it is something that occurs all over this planet. It is something that has not been acknowledged to the extent it needs to be.

Regulations aren’t valued like they are in the workplace or in school, which gives people the purpose to continue with their violent ways on the streets. They do not have to endure consequences if they are on the streets and no one seems to care. Most of time there aren’t witnesses and they don’t seem to do anything if there is, which is why people do not follow the laws. It’s as if this form of violence is exceptional and brushed away like it is not even an issue worthwhile to acknowledge.

Although there are some forms of laws in every state in the United States, many women are not informed about this, which gives this kind of view that there isn’t anything to do about street harassment, so they let it go and continue to face it. In the First Amendment, speech that is intimidating is prohibited and that is what street harassment is. An organization that has been fighting for a vast majority of time, Stop Street Harassment, conducted a document listing what regulations there are under each state in the United States. In Pennsylvania, many forms of street harassment is illegal including, verbal harassment, upskirt photos, indecent exposure, following, and groping. The subject can be charged with a third degree misdemeanor, and up to 1-5 years jail time, depending on the severity of the situation. There may be laws but that does not mean street harassment is vigorously addressed.  

According to Buzzfeed.com, this doesn’t just occur in the US. Majority of the world endures this, in countries such as, Australia, France, India, Japan, Mexico, U.K., etc. Often times in these areas, street harassment is perceived as the female's fault for dressing “provocatively,” and how they brought it upon themselves. In Kenya and other areas, people “think it’s up to women to protect themselves by covering up their bodies.” It’s not about their clothing. It is an excuse distracting from the truth. Women dress for themselves. To feel confident. To feel beautiful. It has nothing to do with attracting attention. Maybe we should start disciplining our boys to respect women and to keep their thoughts to themselves. The men looking should avert their gaze and let the women be. They didn’t dress the way they did for you. So men have no right to tell a women how they should dress. It also comes back to the fact on how society just lets men’s faults slide, and blame it on the woman and how they should cover themselves. Shouldn’t the men and boys keep their sexual feelings to themselves and let the girls be?

I am a modest Muslim woman, who keeps herself fully clothed and I am street harassed. I’ve been shouted at, stared at, and misinterpreted. One time, I was heading home one day with a friend, when a fifty year or so old man was leaving a store as we walked by it, and he commented, “How about I take you two ladies to my bed? I don’t cost much.” Again, this supports my argument when I state this has nothing to do about clothing.

Women have stood up to this issue and there is a form of resistance. Women have used their voices in the past by protesting, developing documentaries, interviews and creating organizations. “In 2012, Sofie Peeters, a student living in Brussels, Belgium filmed with a hidden camera catcalling by men on the streets.” This is a form of fighting back and it got a lot of attention in the media, which helped raise awareness. But they eventually died down because they never got the recognition it needed.

As women and men endure this revolting behavior on a daily basis, we can at least address that this is a serious issue that needs to be handled with better care. Street harassment needs to be made a priority and we need to come together to fight against it.


Citations:

Rossalyn Warren, Marie Kirschen, Lane Sainty, Jina Moore, Rachel Wilkerson Miller, Hannah Giorgis, Nirali Shah, Bibiñe Barud. "Here's What Street Harassment Is Like In Eight Countries Around The World." BuzzFeed. n.p., 11 Apr. 2016. Web.


"Home." Stop Street Harassment. Stop Street Harassment, n.d. Web.

"Statistics." Stop Street Harassment. Stop Street Harassment, n.d. Web.

Views from a Muslim Woman

Posted by Tajnia Hussain on
For this assignment, my goals was to address the issues about Donald Trump and his executive orders and to see the views and emotions from a Muslim woman who is enduring the discrimination that is being brewed up by his dictation. Overall, it was a really cool experience to create a podcast. I have created podcasts in the past and they weren't as thorough as this one. It was intriguing to understand the views from someone completely different from me. It was a struggle to cut short the interview because there were so many parts that were very insightful. Using sound trap was easy and it's a program that I will be using more in the future. I learned a lot more about podcasting and scripts. 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B6Q9JrVioPbKdXBIaW9pcjgtQTA

Advanced Essay #3: Society Changing Identity

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · E Band on

This paper was for me to express my views on how society and powerful people, create ridiculous standards for people to follow, which leads people to believe in false images of becoming wealthy and someone who they are not. Along with that, my goal was to open up and write about a scene that I haven’t exactly opened up about, publicly and I have successfully accomplished that. Overall, I am proud of my end product because I portrayed everything I wanted to in as many words as I could, and I expanded on my creative writing. I spent a significant amount of time on this as well, with extensive amount of peer editing and review, and I am happy with my essay.


Identity is something that you hold dear to you. Something that you become over time, where you discover and explore different things around you, and that eventually builds up who you are. Your identity affects what people think of you and your future. Identity is everything you do, your appearance, your behavior, your daily lifestyle, etc. Identity is impacted by the people who construct society, people who have power and create expectations that you must follow. This builds a false mindset around you, that being wealthy, prosperous, and changing yourself into someone who you are not, will make you happy. When in reality, that is not the case. People slowly start to follow this mentality and change themselves so they can fit in and grow into this facade society has built for them.

A method society uses to do this, is to push people to believe that you should establish and improve your self image, so you are noticed by the more powerful people of this world so you can become affluent. Though this “improvement” occurs slowly, and in daily aspects of your life such as at work, school, financially, and economically, the continuous effort and drive to become someone you are not, adds and adds to your shoulders and augments into a heavy pressure which becomes tremendously unbearable that eventually leads you to break. Society will always have these certain rules about beauty, careers, lifestyle, etc, that will never change, and if one person follows it, it becomes a chain reaction and more people will want to follow them to “fit in” and become wealthy. This makes it even harder for people to ignore it, which is why people get sucked into perfecting themselves.

Not only are normal people affected by this, but many celebrities as well. They come from all over the world and they believed in this fantasy as you are now, but it did not end well for most. Cara Delevingne, a model, stated the truth behind this in an interview, “We are told that if we are beautiful, if we are skinny, if we are successful, famous, if we fit in, if everyone loves us, that we’ll be happy. But that’s not entirely true.” Delevingne's statement exploits society and how it feeds lies to people in order for them to being wealthy, but when they get to that point, they are no longer happy or guaranteed what they were promised in the beginning. The voice Delevingne is portraying, is that none of the things society tells you to do is the right answer, you don’t have to change yourself, just work on yourself the way you choose and you will be happy. She expresses the message to not follow the footsteps society tells you to. Russell Brand, an actor, emphasizes in an interview, “I’ve been inside now. I’ve seen the other side of the looking glass... It don’t feel your soul. I still feel empty inside.” Brand demonstrates his discomfort of being a celebrity and how he woke up from the fantasy. Once he saw past the “looking glass,” which symbolizes how society portrays the rich, he realized that it wasn’t worth believing. Being wealthy and living that kind of life will not feel your soul, like society illustrates. In the end, you will be empty and unhappy.

I, along with many others, have experienced different aspects in their life where they have been discriminated or told to change something in their appearance, attitude, or personality to fit into society or to be accepted. Personally, I was treated negatively many times during my life, but one specific aspect was directly from my relatives. My story goes hand in hand with society’s beauty standards.

It often breaks down when my family has gatherings, such as dinner at my aunts or my place. I’m always around my female cousins and aunts and it always has to come to the conversation about who's gaining or losing weight. During these times, I shy away from the circle but one particular time, I wasn’t paying attention and I was happening to be eating chocolate cake. I mean come on, who doesn’t love cake? It’s irresistible so I kept munching away.

As I was savoring the taste of the silky, smooth, milk chocolate on my tongue until one of my cousins giggles and exclaims, “Look. She can’t stop.”

The moment that statement slipped from her mouth, my face dropped and I felt a sharp pain in my heart and I could feel blood rushing to my cheeks. I set the plate of cake aside and bit excruciatingly hard on my inner lip to fight back the tears. As everyone in the room realized my sudden change of mood, their snickers died down and they moved on to another conversation.

That wasn’t the only time that happened and I do not think that will be the last either but everytime it happens, a piece of me grows even stronger and stronger to love myself, and to not follow society’s standards in beauty. I promise myself to not believe in people’s criticism and society’s false ideas and views and to only follow my own raw beliefs and not the fake ones.

Society teaches us to follow erroneous images where we are all told to look a certain way or to be a certain way. It is about finding what is for you and not letting people tell you how things are. It is all about discovering the world for yourself and seeing the truth behind it all, and then deciding what you want to do and not what society wants you to do. It is about demolishing the these barbaric images for yourself so you can move on without the burden of society.


Bibliography:

Celebrities Speak Out On Fame & Materialism. Perf. Josh Radnor, Lady Gaga, Russell Brand, Tom Shadyac, Alexi Panos, Cara Delevingne, Essena O'Neill, Alanis Morissette, Tupac Shakur. Think For Yourself. YouTube, 4 Mar. 2016. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYDKCx4hSQQ>.


Reynolds, Siimon. "How Your Self Image Determines Your Wealth." Forbes. Forbes Media, 30 Mar. 2014. Web. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/siimonreynolds/2014/03/30/how-your-self-image-determines-your-wealth/#75e7e0dc26d5>.

Advanced Essay #2: Impact of Environment

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · E Band on
This essay allowed me to realize how much language is important to your daily life and how much your surroundings can affect the fluency of how you speak. It developed me as a writer because I discovered new things about myself from this and that will lead to my writing to be stronger in the future. My goals for this essay was to address how important my language was to me and how much it impacts my life. I am proud of weaving my outside sources into my essay. I can use this essay to help me improve on my future essays. 

Language is an essential aspect of my life. It allows me to communicate and interact to others around me. It allows me to express my feelings, question and obtain knowledge, and evaluate our experiences everyday. Being bilingual is an asset in my life and will continue to be because it is dear to my heart. Ever since I was young, Bangla has been my first language and I was raised to understand Hindi and Urdu. I speak Bangla at home, to my relatives, and to the people in Philadelphia, who are apart of the Bengali community.

One of the things that affects one’s language and the way one speaks is the environment that they are in. The more time you spend in that area the more fluent you become in that language. In America, I have an American accent and I know how to speak English fluently and Bangla too, however, when speaking Bangla it is obvious to other Bengalis that I have an accent. In my case, it seems like I do not know Bangla fluently as much as I know English, but in reality it is my native language.

When my family and I would travel to Bangladesh, my cousins would think we didn’t know how to speak it well because our American accent was so thoroughly weaved into our words. Our Bangla sounded informal and weird compared to people who spoke Bangla in Bangladesh.

“Ahhh! Kemon aso thumra? Ki kobor?” (How are you guys?)

I squealed and threw my arms around my two cousins and squeezed the daylights out of them. It had been way too long. I felt their arms wrap around me and hug me back tightly. They laughed at me and pulled away.

“Oh Allah. Thur Bangla tho aro karap hoigese. Thuke abar thin mash er jonno shikabo,” one of my cousins, Lubna said. (Oh god, you're Bangla has gotten worse. We have to teach you again for the next three months.)

In How to Tame A Wild Tongue, Gloria Anzaldua is also bilingual and faces similar issues as I do. She quotes Irena Klepfisz, an author and activist, who states, “Our tongues have become dry, the wilderness has dried out our tongues and we have forgotten speech.” (Anzaldua, 54) When she is referring to this, I experience the same feeling when I travel to Bangladesh. It feels as if I completely forget my language and whenever I speak I fumble with my words and whatever leaves my tongue feels foreign. The environment of America seizes my language away from me and makes my mouth dry of the little I knew.

The minute I stepped off the plane my first trip to Bangladesh, I realized I was speaking Bangla wrong; people around me were speaking it so beautifully and when I spoke it sounded dull. It was the first time the people around me corrected me and it took a toll on me. I felt the same way as Sherman Alexie did when he taught himself how to write in his story, Superman & Me, and everything became so clear. He writes, “I still remember the exact moment when I first understood, with a sudden clarity.” (Alexie, 12) It was astonishing because when I was corrected it felt like everything clicked and the puzzle pieces of my mind were perfectly put into place. Back in America, my parents would not correct me, and I realized I was speaking multiple things wrong the majority of the time. Gradually, as time passed our American accents faded and we blended along with the people around us and it felt like we had been living there all of our lives. The longer you stay around the people who speak the same language as you, the better you get at it. When we went back to America, our Bangla would slowly go back to how it was before but our English was always the same. Unfortunately, it was like a cycle and so when we would go back to Bangladesh or Bangla would be poor once again.

I gained knowledge on the fact that there were different kinds of accents in Bangla too depending on which region of Bangladesh you lived in. In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, people spoke the very formal and professional kind of Bangla. Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh and where my family was from, people spoke formal and the slang language which is Chitenge. In Sylhet, which is in the north east region of Bangladesh, people also speak in a different accents which is very thick compared to Chitenge and formal Bangla. Since, I have grown up in a family that speaks it around me so often, I understand it fully and I know bits and phrases but I do not know how to speak it properly.

Learning a new language is like having a different life in you. On one side of your life you are speaking the language the whole country you are living in knows. On the other side, you are at home, in an environment that is a completely different atmosphere with a different language. However, speaking Bangla and understanding different forms of Bangla along with Hindi and Urdu is my strength. It is an advantage for my communication abilities now and in the future; whether I am translating for someone, or for academic or job purposes. Even though I do not know every aspect of Bangla, I don’t feel discouraged and when someone corrects me because I am acquiring more knowledge. It may affect others negatively to change but to me I am able to discover new things from my mistakes and it is making me stronger to a place I could never imagine. As I am adapting to the environments, I feel like the people around me are literally putting their hands into my brain and placing information and in the long run it is benefiting me to a greater extent.

Language takes up a whole part of you and it’s something to keep with you and pass down from generation to generation. It’s something native that you must keep close since it is so special. Whatever environment you are in and however you are affected by it you still have a way to communicate and speak a language that you’re fluent in and that is something to take pride in. If we continue to build a positive environment around the children of our future, they will learn the complexities of language and communication and learn the importance of language as much as I do.

Works Cited

How to Tame A Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua

Anzaldua, Gloria. "Borderlands La Frontera." How to Tame a Wild Tongue. San Francisco: Aunt Lute, 1999. 53-64. Print.


Superman & Me by Sherman Alexie

Alexie, Sherman. "Superman & Me." The Most Wonderful Books: Writers on Discovering the Pleasures of Reading. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1997. N. pag. Print.


Advanced Essay #1: [Your Mind and Your Hands]

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in English 3 · Block/Franz/Taylor-Baranik · E Band on

Introduction:

My goals in this paper is to inform the reader about my struggles on figuring out what to paint for an important assignment I once had. And how that influenced me to not to listen to people who discourage me and to continue their passions. I am proud of the analysis towards the end where I express my feelings about what society expects of me but I do not what to follow what I was taught. Some things I would like to improve in the future, is to work on my transitions so the flow of my essays would go smoothly with no changes in tone.

Advanced Essay:

As I sit in on my bed, thinking about what to write, how to write about this. It stays sitting in my bookshelf, on the very highest shelf hidden behind all the happy family memories. It is something that holds my talents; a small painting created by my fifth grade self. Painting came easily to me and it was somewhere I could express my creativity and there were no limits. But this talent wasn’t satisfying the expectations of my family or the lifestyle I was grown into.

I drifted away from those thoughts and flashbacked to when I painted it. The memory was slowly fading away from my mind and it was getting difficult to remember every detail. It was an assignment every student in the fifth grade was given. We were to read, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry over the summer. We would be focusing on impressionism and by observing closely at different artworks we were to create a masterpiece by ourselves. To expand on our ideas, our teachers let us explore the Philadelphia Museum of Art which housed quite a few impressionist artworks. I anxiously walked through the exhibit, hoping some kind of concept of what I wanted to do would bloom in my mind. I stared deep into the paintings as if I were to be dragged into it like a black hole at any moment. I noticed how the painters used strokes to make the painting seem blurry but very subtle to lead the viewer to their imagination. I already had experience in painting but I wanted this to be something new and mysterious. This task was going to be unique and I was determined to make it the best I can.

It was finally time to paint and I chose the scene where the main character, Annemarie, found peace amongst the chaos during WWll. She was watching fireworks in the night sky. I wanted to start at an angle where the view was through her eyes like she was directly seeing it. I had to put myself in her shoes and painting the scene in that very moment. As we sat in class, I let myself go and let my mind and hands do all the work. I allowed my emotions get to me and tried to feel what Annemarie would have felt so that the scenery would be powerful. It screamed happiness and excitement but sadness all at the same time. It was like you would get the same thrill of watching fireworks and just looking at the painting and being there yourself. It represented that even during the darkest times there was light.

I started from one small sparkle to a massive firework like Annemarie herself, just a young girl with great ambitions. I painted some small, and some larger than others using bright, and alive colors that brings joy within us. I painted the dark black buildings, which were above the water. They stood tall, the pigmented color of black, as prominent as ever. I painted the water with ripples and reflections and look as if it was glistening, like you can reach out and touch it. If you looked close enough it seemed as if it is moving and you can hear the soothing quiet sounds of the water. I didn’t let myself stop until I felt as if there was nothing left to add.

This all came back to how everybody thinks art is just something you accomplish just for a leisure activity. It’s something that gives people joy, it’s something you can’t throw away or hide, it’s something someone should spend time on or make it their career. It allows people to express themselves whatever the situation you are in. Whether you are angry, emotional, happy, those moods allow you to produce different types of art and makes it meaningful. It is a way of finding peace. It is the positive vibes during the bad times.

Art is dependent on ourselves. It’s on you whether you want to express this talent of yours that other people may not have. A majority of people think that arts isn’t something you should focus and spend your life on or that you won’t get noticed for it and that doesn’t mean you have to stop doing it all together. Don’t let the negativity stop you. Don’t let it knock you down. Don’t give up. Let it motivate you instead to continue with your passion. “You have the control of your future. Control of you is all in your mind and your hands. Don’t let anybody take control of your future other than you,” states Dina Torkia (UK Stylist). It’s not just in arts but other subjects as well. People telling you what to be when you grow up or what to do. Today, it’s like society has your fate written, you have to be a doctor or engineer. As Dina said, your mind and your hands give you the ability to do what you want in your life so do not let what people say get to you. This is what I have learned from this experience; get past the barriers and reach for whatever you want in life. It may take time but you will eventually get it. I could not figure out what to do with the empty canvas. But I got passed it all and produced something that was valuable. It’s not just the tiny things like this assignment, but the larger things in life.

It was as if someone snapped their fingers and brought me back to reality, that I realized I had something to finally write about. I opened my eyes and smiled and let myself and my hands type away, like I was painting once again.

Environmental Impact on Human Behavior

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in English 2 - Pahomov - E on

How does environment impact human behavior? Environment is an extremely important part of one’s life because it determines how someone is as a person. That then allows for there to be a question of how human behavior triggers rituals? Rituals are a big part of people’s lives whether religious or not; some rituals include daily routines. People tend to be passionate about rituals, due to their environment, and the fact that it allows them to escape stressful situations by engaging in activities. As a result, people commit to these thoroughly, which has a strong impact on their behavior, which can result in hidden danger toward others and themselves.

In the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, it portrays many examples on how environment affects human behavior in rituals. It is about a large group of boys who are stuck on an island trying to survive and govern themselves till help comes. After a series of events, the boys or the littluns come across the belief that there is “the beast.” They believe different possibilities on what the beast could be and how the island creates it. In reality, the beast is a dead parachuter that fell from aircrafts in the middle of the book. The dead body casts a shadow which fears the littluns. ‘“We began well; we were happy. And then-,” said Ralph… The vivid horror of this, so nakedly terrifying, held them silent… the platform was full of arguing, gesticulating shadows… seemed to be the breaking up of sanity… “If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat!” said Jack.’ (Pg. 82-91) The beast is apart of the flaws of the island. It brings out the savagery and the animalistic side in the littluns because they get continuous thoughts to kill it. Each one of the littluns have disorderly thoughts and fear about the beast and Golding displays the dark side of human nature when in danger. The beast becomes a dominant force in their lives creating madness between each other and arguments, but it also becomes a ritual. Everything was normal in the beginning until things like “the beast” caused change and brought up a fear within the littluns. Everyday after that, they gradually became paranoid and got the feeling to get rid of this so called “beast” so it wouldn’t be a worry for them anymore. This becomes a daily ritual for them. This supports the claim of the littluns being passionate about the rituals and it overtaking them. By analysing this, it is uncovered that the children don't realize that their environment are affecting them and it is going to lead the situation to become more detrimental and violent or someone being harmed.

These situations explained in Lord of the Flies also takes place in the real world, one example  is the KKK. The KKK, which stands for the Klu Klux Klan, is a racist extremist movement group and they are perpetrators of violence for racial segregation and white supremacy. The Klu Klux Klan showed up after the Civil War and targeted blacks and anyone who supported their rights. They terrorized black homes, lynched and tortured them. The KKK burned crosses, had rallies, bombed black schools and churches, and condemned blacks, immigrants, Catholics, and Jews. In Public Torture Lynchings in Twentieth Century America, the author David Garland talks about public lynchings by the KKK that involved rituals. It mentions, “Nearly 30 years after emancipation… Southern crowds began to torture and burn alleged offenders ferocity and public ceremony. These new kinds of lynching occurred throughout the south... nearly 4,000 lynchings were recorded.” The loss of black slaves for Southerners was so difficult that they felt a piece of their lives gone. They felt that the sole purpose for the blacks was to serve them so in retaliation they burned their bodies and lynched over thousands of them. Their rituals included bonfires and chanting. People engrossed in rituals to achieve a set of desired outcomes and the KKK’s environment once consisted of all whites and the fact that the blacks were gaining rights disturbed them so the thoughts of destroying them clouded their minds and controlled them. That led them to create catastrophic rituals and murdering thousands of innocent people. In a different perspective, from a victim of the KKK who reported to the website, EyeWitness to History, Ben Johnson tells the audience about witnessing lynchings and his experiences with the KKK after the Civil War. Ben was born a slave in 1848, and was being interviewed by the Federal Writers’ Project who were recollecting stories from former slaves. “I never will forget when they hung Cy Guy. They hung him… They scratches Cy’s arm to get some blood… any nigger what takes down the body shall be hanged too. Nobody would bother with that body for four days an’ there it hung, swinging in the wind…” The KKK would do anything to keep their white supremacy and they were fervent about it in their rituals. They wouldn't let anyone interfere and if they did they would be punished as well. From the quote, it seems like Ben couldn't have done anything and the KKK made them helpless. They were so consumed into these violent rituals because of black people around their environment and that impacted their mind, body and soul because they could not stop and further killing more people. The Klan members wore masks and wore white robes and hoods and made attacks at night much like the children who wore paint to represent themselves. They cold heartedly murdered, and whipped them reminding them of their lives as slaves.

Towards the end of the story in the chapter View to Death, in Lord of the Flies, Jack slowly separates from Ralph and creates his own tribe. He convinces some of the littluns to join him and they go out to hunt and eventually kill a sow. Afterwards, they eat the sow and celebrate. ‘“The hunters took their spears, the cooks took spits, and the rest clubs of firewood. A circling movement developed and a chant… “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”’ (Pg. 151-152) The children are so into the ritual and celebrating their sacrifices that they are being consumed by chaotic thoughts to kill because of the island. The children being on the island and it’s dark aura caused them to have a change in their behavior. The fact that they were staying on the island with no adults, no sense of security, and no form of control over their minds it caused them to become something that was not their normal selves. The children have no idea what they were doing because they were being controlled by the ritual in a negative way. The chants, dancing, and warpaint that were occurring continuously is a way for them to forget about their troubles but eventually led them to harm people. They kill two of the children and believing that it was “the beast.” They are allowing the environment having an influence over them.

Environment will always be apart of human identity and it will always affect them in some shape or form. It will lead people to be ardent towards their rituals in their lives. Rituals are a type of solution for people and will always be a strong impact on them and the people around them either in a positive or negative way.


Works Cited:

Gavins, Raymond. The Cambridge Guide to African American History. N.p.: Cambridge UP, 2016. Print. <https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NRl-CwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA157&dq=KKK+rituals&ots=gFnAKyABhU&sig=

5uxi16ZciaWyroeAHc5XD2QzB4g#v=onepage&q=KKK%20rituals&f=false>.


History.com Staff. "Ku Klux Klan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan>.


"Resistance." National Great Blacks In Wax Museum. The National Great Blacks, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.greatblacksinwax.org/Exhibits/lynching.htm>.


Garland, David. "Penal Excess and Surplus Meaning: Public Torture Lynchings in Twentieth-Century America." - Garland. The Law and Society Association, Dec. 2005. Web. 06 Apr. 2016, <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5893.2005.00245.x/full>.


Johnson, Ben. "The Klu Klux Klan, 1868." EyeWitness to History.com. Ibis Communications, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

<http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/kkk.htm>.


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

WPEB Radio ILP

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Giorgio - Wed on
I am interning at a radio station in West Philly called WPEB. We learned about radio equipment and mics. It was pretty cool. I went on air once with an update saying the channel number. Other students from charter schools just interviewed to intern at the radio station as well and I was there to interview them. I am currently learning more about the equipment and recording. 

Burst

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in English 2 - Pahomov - E on

Monologue: 

Why did you do this to me? What have I ever done to you? All I have done is help you! All I have done is try my best to bring this family together ever since mum left. I was the one who had looked for a job and tried my best to pay for the bills. You thought I didn’t notice that you sneaked money out of the safe for alcohol? How could you even do this to me? To yourself? All the work I have done to achieve that money and you were just throwing it out.

You're were using up our savings that we need. You can’t do this anymore. I won’t allow you to Dad. I’m eighteen and If I wanted to I could leave. I don’t have to stay here and watch us drown ourselves in debt. I don’t know why this whole time I decided to stay. I shouldn’t be sacrificing my time from school work to do work. I want to go to college, but I guess I won’t be doing that any time soon. If I do leave right now, we will fall even more apart and I’m sure that none of us want that.

The moment I walked into the house I knew something was wrong. I felt the tension in the atmosphere. You stalked towards me like I was your prey. It then got to the point where the alcohol was getting into your head and you were not thinking clearly. You saw red. You saw mum in me. Is that why you grabbed my arms, thinking it was her? You held me tightly and hugged me and whispered into my ear asking why she left, why would she break apart us apart, why she did this to us...

Then suddenly out of thin air, something must have gotten into your head. You violently started shaking me. Then unwrapped your arms from around me and shoved me, and I abruptly hit the wall, and I banged my head against it, causing a searing pain in my head. Then I felt something hit my cheek. I felt the blood rushing to my face. You slapped me, Dad. I was too stunned to move. How could you do that to your own daughter? Your own flesh and blood. I should’ve known you would do this even before you laid a hand on me. You were out of your mind! Then you started shouting. You started accusing me saying how I ruined everything, that I was behind the reason why we were in the position we were in now. How if she didn’t leave for another man that we wouldn't be in this position. How she broke your heart. Dad, you thought I was mum. You really thought that low of me?

I composed myself and then suddenly something clicked in me. I was fed up with what you were saying. It had already been six months since she left and we needed to get past that. We were stronger than this.

I bursted. I started shouting and shouting back at you trying to snap you out of it. I came face to face with you and said that I wasn’t mum. Then I saw the realization in your eyes. You finally saw me as, Stephanie, your daughter and not that monster. You were saying sorry over and over again. You were in tears. I said I was glad that she left. So what if she betrayed us? Sure, she broke both us but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t going to get up and put the pieces back together. She was the coward. She was the one who lost the most amazing husband and daughter. I promise you Dad, we would get through this. We would both have to try our best and get through these hardships, together. We would do anything in our power and stay positive to get back on top. But you have to promise me that you will never drink to solve your problems. Don’t worry Dad, I know what you are going through because I feel the same way too.
Podcast E2

ILP @ WPEB

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Giorgio - Wed on
Ms. Ali emailed me the options for ILP and I emailed her back saying that I was not interested in the options. I had another option open for me that is more convenient for me. One of my friends, Lydia, said she could help me find an ILP where she was interning at which is a radio station in West Philly. She mentioned how the option was open if none of my other ideas worked out. I talked to her and she gave me the host's email, Ms. Renee. I emailed her asking if I could intern there as well and she emailed me back confirming that I could. I was supposed to start last week but Ms. Renee canceled. I will be starting MY ILP this week Wednesday. I am looking forward to meeting Ms. Renee.  

ILP at TFI

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Giorgio - Wed on

I want to have an ILP at the Franklin Institute. I have been emailing our old supervisor, Ms. Ali, when we went to TFI every Wednesdays last year. She has been emailing me back and forth on what I am interested in for. She has been also emailing the hosts who are in charge of the ILPs there so she will be letting me know.

Magnífica casa Diseñado por Tajnia y Syeda

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

Nuestra casa es una casa de dos pisos en la ciudad de Filadelfia, que es moderno y muy grande. Tiene un interior sencillo que contiene tres dormitorios, una sala de estar, comedor, cocina, garaje, almacén, una habitación, tres baños, habitación familiar/biblioteca y patio. Es en la ciudad con muchas ventanas para disfrutar de la vista. Dentro de las paredes están pintadas de colores vibrantes y ligeros, con suelos de baldosas. Algunas de las habitaciones son sencillas y modernas y las habitaciones y el patio trasero son muy elegantes. Es una casa muy grande que es muy amplia, con muchas ventajas para disfrutar.


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Compromise of 1877

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in African American History - Jonas - A on

Artist Statement:


The newspaper I wrote was to represent the Compromise of 1877. It tells the audience what the real cause was for the ending of the Reconstruction Era. There are multiple subtitles aligned with descriptions about it. One of the elements of the newspaper which may be not clear to the reader is that it specifically speaks out to what the hidden details were which most citizens and media probably didn't know or speak about. It has perspectives to it, one which is titled ¨what is occurring in the public¨ and ¨behind the closed doors.¨ On the public side it explains what the main things everyone knew about and what the terms were for the South. The closed doors side tells us about what the Republicans gave to the Democrats in trade for Hayes to become president. The South had more terms compared to Rutherford Hayes just becoming President and the newspaper highlights it. Another element of the visual is that there is an image under the ¨Consequences¨ title which may be a little bit confusing as well but it makes the audience think. It represents both sides, the north and the south and what the end product was. The north ended up losing their aid with blacks and the south was practically in charge even though Hayes was president. This newspaper matters and has meaning for the study of the Reconstruction era because it thoroughly represents what the Compromise was for and in many different perspectives. The era was an impact on American History because blacks were no longer in aid and it gave them a chance to stand up on their own and fight for their rights.


Research Link: All quotes with analysis and annotated bibliography. https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1lnxMSfFQs9llJlyRsmESD0LWalluyqm163udDCrbt00/edit?usp=sharing

Q3 Art Reflection

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Art - Freshman - Hull - y2 on
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A. I feel like I accomplished partially of both of the side walls and the back wall. I missed some things on one of the side walls because I didnt have space but the other one was fully done. I would give myself full credit for both the ceiling, floor, and the left side wall because I followed all the directions for it. 

B. If I do this project again I would do the same wall but put more time to it and add color to the ceiling. I would also try to do the full room not missing parts from the side walls.

C. I would say Jaszmine's drawing is successful. I can notice that she put a lot of effort and time into it. She completed the back wall and the ceiling fully. The side walls have windows and doors on them and she detailed it with the board and door window which was great. I could tell that she followed the directions from the one point perspective and she used the vanishing point correctly. She also had a table and stool to top it off and it looks successful. 

D. I learned that you have to carefully use the vanishing point to get everything on point and you have to align everything correctly. You have to use the vertical, horizontal, and orthogonal lines. 

Essays

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

Me llamo Tajnia. Me gusta ver deportes, y fútbol. Pero no tengo de deportes nunca. Mi familia muy loco. Siempre estamos dispuestos a ver los deportes y comer juntos. Es por eso que mi familia fascina La Copa Mundial! Mis hermanos hacen los platos pero debo hacer cuando tengo tiempo libre. Yo soy siempre el que ayudar en casa. Como una familia que acaba de ir de vacaciones en verano.

Mi mejor amiga Syeda. Ella le gusta ver la videos de YouTube. Cuando ella tiene tiempo libre le gusta tomar fotografías. Ella nunca hace deporte. Después de las clases Syeda le gusta mirarse en el espejo en el baño. A veces ella le gusta salir con los amigos.


Asher, Tajnia, Joseph Ensayo Proyecto

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

¡SLA es Súper Agudo!


¡Hola! Somos Asher Swartz, Tajnia Hussain, y Joseph Lee, y somos en noveno grado. Somos estudiantes de Science Leadership Academy, o SLA. SLA es una Filadelfia imán escuela. Está en centro ciudad Filadelfia, 55 Norte 22 Calle. Está cerca de Arch Street Gourmet, Trader Joe’s, y 7-Eleven. ¡Comida! SLA es muy divertidos, y un poco extraño. Hay muchos estudiantes cómicos. ¡Es súper genial! Hay aproximadamente 500 estudiantes en la escuela, casi 120 por clase. Tenemos cinco pisos, y muchos profesores. Tenemos deportes diferentes, corremos en las carreras, leemos y escribimos poesía, cantamos canciones y bailamos bailes, y dibujamos arte. Tenemos también tocamos instrumentos, trabajamos en proyectos, estudiamos para pruebas, y comemos durante el almuerzo. ¡Tenemos buenos niños y niñas equipos fútbol y equipo de debate (bastante bueno equipo de debate), y muchos más maravillosos equipos y clubes! ¡Asher participa en Ultimate Frisbee porque es tremendamente divertidos! ¡Tenemos un gran escuela!

Hay clases bioquimica, historia, inglés, español, álgebra, tecnología, teatro y ingegneria en noveno grado. Mis clases favoritas inglés y bioquímica. Inglés es muy divertida y entretenido y un poco difícil. Nosotros hacemos trabajamos y escribimos. Señor Kay enseña muy bien y es tranquilo y chévere. Necesitamos la computadora y libros. Leemos libros tal como Odyssey, y opciones libros. Para tener éxito en esta clase debemos escuchar y prestar atención durante las
discusiones. Bioquímica es bastante, interesante y fácil. Señorita Dunda es sociable y fantástica enseña. Necesitamos cuaderno para labs y bata de laboratorio. Experimentamos y tomar apuntes. Es requerido y importante a colaborar y hacer preguntas. También a responsable en puntualidad y estar preparada.

La Srta Manuel enseña español. Es bastante tranquila, boba, y baja. Su clase es divertido, interesante, y muy energético. En la clase hablamos español, cantamos en español, jugamos juegos, y tomamos apuntes. También tenemos súper divertido competiciones de clase. Los estudiantes son qué chévere y responsable. Muy diverso. Nosotros somos una mezla de razas.

SLA es muy chévere. Nos encanta la libertad, nos encanta los estudiantes, nos encanta el almuerzo, nos encanta las computadoras, nos encanta The Franklin Institute, nos encanta las clases, y muchos más. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA los profesores. Ellos son divertido, tranquilo, inteligente, y muy útil. SLA es muy exitoso, bajo, y súper interesante. SLA es un muy bien escuela para todos los que estén interesados en la ciencia. Amamos nuestra escuela.


¡Los seres queridos en mi vida! - Tajnia Hussain

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on

​YO: ¡Hola! Me llamo Tajnia. Tengo catorce años. Soy de Bangladesh, Asia pero vivo en Filadelfia Pensilvania. Me gusta ver deportes, y fútbol. ¡Me fascina La Copa Mundial! Asisto a Science Leadership Academy. En mi escuela me interesa Inglés y Biochemica. No me gusta nada historia. Me gusta leer.


ÉL: Te presento a hermano. Su nombre es Mohammed. Mi hermano es bajo, y muy adorable. Tiene once. Le encanta jugar videojuegos y ir al fútbol. Le gusta Neymar Jr. Mohammed tiene los ojos cafés y el pelo negro. Asisto a Penn Alexander School.


ELLAS: Te presento a Myrna y Aroshi. Son bastante hermosa, habladora, cómica, adorable y loca. Ellas da risa. Son bastante importante para mi. Ellas le gusta comer, ir de compras, y escuchar música. Tiene los ojos cafés claros y el pelo cafés.


ELLOS: Te presento a Jasmin y Mohammed. Mi hermanos. Los amo. Ellos perezosa. Nos alta y extraña. Nos gustas ir al cine y salir y ir de compras. No me gusta nada trabajar.


NOSOTRAS: Te presento a Amea mi mejor amiga. Somos amigas por dos años. Nos conocimos en la escuela en Penn Alexander school. Nos gustas estar de vago. Nos gustas ver la tele. No mi gusta nada estudiar. Son es fabulosa. Nos fascina dormir. Amea es talentosa y sociable y divertida. Asisto a City School. Ella es de Filadelfia.


FIN: ¡Gracias, por tu atención! ¡Eso es todo!

Net Neutrality Blog

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - y1 on

Net neutrality is treating all data and devices equally, whichever race, devices, sites, or ISPs you tune into. Net neutrality is important for teens to know about. A lot of things happen on the internet that all teens need to be aware about like cyber bullying and digital discrimination. That is one of the reasons why we have firewalls at school and sometimes at home too. Companies such as Verizon and Comcast are ISPs or internet service providers violate these barriers and stream these websites legally without filtering all of it for users. This corrupts the rule of net neutrality and if that happens ISPs can pay extra to block themselves from using the internet.


This is where the FCC/federal communications commissions and President Obama comes in. The FCC’s job is the government overseeing what people do on the internet. President Obama thinks that shouldn't be any barriers between you and your favorite websites so he formed a plan. He ensures that there will be an open internet that can connect us to the world, but protects net neutrality for everyone. The internet has become everyone’s communication and everyday life, so consumers get to decide what they can do.


Now that you are aware about what Net Neutrality is and how it is being impacted. We want teenagers to know that everybody is going online and that they are going to grow up having problems online. They need to be prepared and if not they will won't be able to fix the problems ahead of them. We should be able to influence others by our opinions on what may be going on as well.


​http://guide.sacbee.com/2014/05/19/6105/two-sides-of-the-net.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality#cite_note-1
http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality
netneutrality
netneutrality

Soy Lionel Messi

Posted by Tajnia Hussain in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on
Hola, Me llamo Lionel Messi. Tengo 27 años. Soy de Rosario, Argentina pero vivo en Barcelona.

Soy alto, deportista y bastante famoso. Me gusta jugar fútbol. Me gusta mucho cantar y escuchar música. Me fascina jugar con mi hijo y estar con familia. Me encanta Sergio Torres.

¿Te gusta fútbol?
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