Something Interesting

I was just off from an exhausting day, spent 5 hours doing my project with my group in one of their house. I usually walk home, but at the time all I wanted was my bed, inside my warm, cozy home. So, I decided to call home to get a ride. I went by the school to wait.

I waited, and waited. It was 6:35 P.M. It was dark and cold, and every minute made me miss my home even more. I looked at the time again - 6:50. I was starting to get irritated. I was cold, hungry and alone. At that moment, I felt helpless. I felt as if no one was coming for me, as if I was lost.

I could see many cars zooming past me, leaving me with the feeling that they were ignoring me, as if my existence does not even matter, but luckily, my ride did come. I was relieved. "Let's buy some pizza!" I said.  It made me forget all the thoughts I was having. We went to Little Caesars. Right away, something caught my attention and it was not the pizza.

It was a couple of homeless people asking for some change in front of the fast food establishment. I saw a few people shaking their hands in rejection, but many just looked straight ahead and ignored them. My brother was one of them, passed them as if they weren't even there. Witnessing what just happened gave me a great deal of empathy towards them. Not only that I experienced the same situation they were in, just a few minutes ago, I also knew how they felt. They were cold, hungry, and lost.

Both of the homeless people finally gave up. I was heartbroken. They knew they wouldn't even get a response. Being ignored was worse than getting rejected. At least rejection gives you the sense of being rejected but being ignored, it just leaves you with an empty feeling, it is like you do not even exist.

As the homeless woman finally moved out of the way, a kid approached her and handed her a dollar and some change. Her eyes immediately widened, shocked with the kindness the kid had to offer. Moments later, a different person stepped in. The lady had four cans in her arms. She greeted the woman with kindness, offering the cans. The woman was stunned with all the sudden generosity. All she was able to do was give out endless amount of gratefulness to them with new hopes in her eyes.

Seeing all the humane acts, almost brought me to tears. It was relieving to know that there are still people out there with good hearts. After all of this, I decided to look for something that would help me on how to respond to homeless people that I might encounter in the future. They're are many reasons why we might ignore them, but we never stopped and consider how they would feel.

Immigrants in Our Homeland

Immigrants in Our Homeland by Jimmy Santiago Baca, in this, he describes his own experience in prison. Going to this "new land" shattered many futures of the immigrants coming there, as well as their hopes and dreams, with only a few coming out with desire of turning their life around, like how they once hoped for when they first arrived to this undesired place. At the age of 21, Baca was convicted on charges of drug possession. Having to serve 6 years in prison, his eyes were opened and decided to change for the better. During this 6 years, he enduringly taught himself on how to read and write, spending the hard years of trying to learn while sparking his never-before enthusiasm for education. This eventually led him to writing poetry, giving it to his fellow cellmates, which often in return of cigarettes, helping him and the others get through the hard times. All and all, this poem was trying to convey that anyone can change, it is the matter of the will. During all of the years he spent in prison, he stayed strong even in desperate times where many men would have been left broken. He rose from the dirt he once was buried, proving that he can change and that anyone can change.

Emerson's Child

Last week's presidential election was a phenomenal for many of us. It sparked endless reactions, some with grief, some with disbelief. Despite that I believe Emerson would approve it. He's a man who believes in people like Trump. He believes that people should not be afraid of speaking their mind, regardless of how rude it might come out. But this very reason might be the why so many dislike Trump.

Some might think of Trump to be a child. But to Emerson eyes, children, that are not affected by any outside influence, are geniuses. "Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! In the next room his voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries," If Emerson got to have his ways he would probably want everyone to be more like Donald Trump, like self-reliant individuals. He would have wanted for our education to be just this, teaching of how to express our opinion freely. "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think."

Some of Emerson's teachings are "be yourself," and "trust yourself," Emerson wants people to act the way they are, not because society demands, because that is what you are. He wants you to be yourself whether people are watching or not, the same when your at home and when out in public. Basically, Emerson does not want your choices of acts to be affected by what others consider "acceptable." It is about what you want, not theirs. Following someone's guideline to which is right and wrong limits our potential. That is why Emerson believe we should let our mind loose and forget those who are outside.Let a man then know his worth, and keep things under his feet. "Let him not peep or steal, or skulk up and down with the air of a charity-boy, a bastard, or an interloper, in the world which exists for him."

Emerson for the Young Buck

"Self-Reliance" by Emerson is basically a lecture for us youngsters to be ourselves. He is telling us to ignore other people's thoughts and be who you truly want to be. Speak up when you have something to say, whether it will cause someone to be uncomportable or cause conflicts. He believes that people like these are geniuses because they don't let others hold them back. When you have something to say, they say it without any hesitation and concern. They aren't afraid. They aren't afraid to be wrong, judged, hated. All they care is to deliver what they have in mind. And by doing this, they had become so far ahead from us, they become so much productive, compare to us who still have the thoughts of what others think of us, preventing from unleashing our truest potential.

My American Voice

When do you speak up?
When someone is getting bullied, will you just walk away and hope someone will say something? When there is an on-going problem, do you just wait for it to fix itself? When there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity passing by, will you just quietly let it pass?

Many believe that they have no voice or afraid to let out their voice out.
But the thing is: they shouldn't. Our words mean something, they have power. They have the potential to change people, give opportunities, make friends, help people, hurt people. They have the potential to influence millions of listeners, impacting their minds, the way they think, the way they live. And yes. Speaking is a choice but speaking is also a freedom. Having no voice is the same as being confined in a cell. Don't let anyone take it away from you.

All in all, more people need to speak up. Many individual don't realize how many opportunities they miss out by not saying anything. When you have something to say, say it. We all have the right to speak our minds, whether how much absurd or silly it is.

Just be careful on how you use your power. They're stronger than you think.

Vocabulary #6 Internet Terms

meme - a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc. that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users
"My friend took a video of me crying and turned it into a meme."

virus - a piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or destroying data.
"A teacher recommended me to download this program and now I have a virus."

viral - relating to or involving an image, video, piece of information, etc., that is circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another.
"I wanted to do a viral video but I'm too embarrassed."

blog -

a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

"My mom just learned what a blog is and now she has one."

wiki - a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users.
"Making a wiki is a nice way for you and other people to share knowledge."

URL - he generic term for all types of names and addresses that refer to objects on the World Wide Web
"I forgot the URL address of the website so you have to manually look for it."

website - a location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web.
"This website is really helpful especially to young naïve boys."

www - The World Wide Web (WWW) is a network of online content that is formatted in HTML and accessed via HTTP. The term refers to all the interlinked HTML pages that can be accessed over the Internet.
"WWW is what websites usually start with."

Internet - The global communication network that allows almost all computers worldwide to connect and exchange information.
"It is amusing, how people believe everything they read off the internet."

2.0 - used to denote a superior or more advanced version of an original concept, product, service, etc.
"They have a friend that looks just like me but better in everyway so they started calling him Eldrin 2.0"

open source - denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified
"I took that information from an open source website."

Today I'm a Good Human Being!

Today, I'm a good human being because I washed the dishes this morning. It may not be much but to me, doing these kind of actions are important. Throwing away your trash in the trash can and having good recycling habit are honorary deeds. We may not be able to donate million of dollars to charity, or risk our lives in protecting our country, but simple task like saying thank you or holding the door for strangers are equivalent to those actions. These usually go by unnoticed, but to us, these what make us humans and also in hopes of influencing the future generation.