We were kids…
High school. A safe abode free from the anger and hatred that wells from the streets of every city we've ever known. This place where smiles trickle in the half glow of routine. This place where, almost assured of treason's guilt one hides their anguish in desperate, fearful anticipation of secret forays with whispered confessions.
We were kids when we came. I was a kid when I came. I had tasted some small trickle of life and became certain of some things myself. I clung to an identity afraid I might be seen as a child who didn't know. I wasn't ready to listen and still I'm not. Not to those who do not cherish diversity. Not to those who post the same agenda on every face but for a different Ivy League university. Not to those who with their power, their judgement squeeze from me, my desires and dreams. Not to those who stifle my screams of pain and rage in the belief that world peace can only achieved through some king of frozen grinned, sweaty rolled up, button down cotton shirt diplomacy instead of a whole lot of healing. Do you hear me in this silence: You gotta know what needs to be healed so, cry out, CRY OUT! . . . Someone did that once, this guy who hated more and was angry more than anyone I'd ever met (even more angry than my older brother), it was last year and he only went nuts for just that one night and besides he was really drunk. It took a few days for the bewildered rumours to hit me and the guy was my roommate, the bravest guy I've ever met.
We were kids when we came and as kids we grow up, we fall down, we make mistakes, we even make believe. As kids moving into the intricate intrigue of sick societies with a multitude of roads, paths, back alleyways and even underground shopping concourses we sometimes get confused, lost and uncertain. Decisions loom and our futures are relegated to the dull glint of role models whose paths we may hope to follow. But what once worked, what once we valued, may now have fallen from our esteem. Relevancy is ever changing and roads deteriorate in crumbling empires, traffic flows change and as we wait to cross the road we find cars more reluctant to stop and fewer and fewer people ready to join us at the sidewalk's edge.
In this poem, “On the Subway”, written by Sharon Olds brings two worlds into proximity. We will identify the contrast that develops both portraits in the poem and discuss the insights the narrator comes to because of the experience. The author refers to several literary techniques as tone, poetic devices, imagery, and organization. The poem talks about a historical view based on black and white skin. It positions the two worlds the point of view of a black skinned and a white skinned. The boy is described as having a casual cold look for a mugger and alert under the hooded lids. On the other hand, based on his appearance the white skinned person felt threatened by the black boy. She was frightened that he could take her coat, brief case, and
High school. It’s tough. Especially if you’re a freshman. Everything changes when you get to high school. You start to notice specific people more, your friends start to change, and even your likes and dislikes change. These may just sound like the typical high school cliche sayings, but in the novel Sleeping Freshman Never Lie, written by David Lubar, Scott Hudson had to go through all of that in just his first year of high school. Throughout the novel, Scott Hudson encounters many changes in his freshman year of high school including, the arrival of a new baby sibling, friends coming and leaving, being on student council, writing for the school’s newspaper, working on the school’s play, all while he is chasing the “girl of his dreams”. The
Inner-city life is filled with glimmers of hope. The children had hopes of leaving the dreadful streets of the ghetto and moving into an innovative and improved place. There are times when Lafayette states, ...
“School can be a tremendously disorienting place… You’ll also be thrown in with all kind of kids from all kind of backgrounds, and that can be unsettling… You’ll see a handful of students far excel you in courses that sound exotic and that are only in the curriculum of the elite: French, physics, trigonometry. And all this is happening while you’re trying to shape an identity; your body is changing, and your emotions are running wild.” (Rose 28)
One of the most devastating blows to the Jewish people was the rise of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism was based on Christian anti-Judaism: “The deicide accusation, the supersession myth, the supposed moral turpitude and deserved punishment resulting from the rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, as well as economic be...
8th grade, 8th grade from the opening day to the signing of the yearbooks. This is the year of memories, goodbyes, and regrets. 8th grade and I’m still realizing that there are people in the world that would die to go to a school like this. A school where every body knows everyone’s name, respects everyone, and where violence and fighting are about as common as the Yankees missing the playoffs. When I’m done with my homework and go to bed, as the days of 8th grade wind down, summer will come and go, and I will find myself in one of those giant, scary places called high school.
There will always be prejudices and discrimination no matter how educated humans become. Anti-Semitism is the prejudice against Jews and is a form of discrimination that has caused some of the most severe problems throughout history. Anti-Semitism has benefited the Israelites and the Jewish faith as a whole, by depicting Israel as the Jewish Holy Land.
As have all prejudices, anti-Semitism has been around a long time. It has been around since the time of Christ. One of the first events that gave rise to anti-Semitism was the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Mrs. Hahn's Notes). Jews were considered the murderers of Christ. Because of this hatred towards Jews, Jerusalem was destroyed, killing over 1 million Jews who resided there (A Calendar of Jewish Persecution).
Five of the greatest years of your life occur throughout high school, what makes these years so great is not overly obvious until they’re actually over. You experience times that you’ll always remember; great sports moments with your favorite high school teams, and you get the great feeling of closeness and structure from the school, along with the people you’ll never forget; this half-decade serves as a great period to form new bonds that may or may not last an eternity, and to strengthen friendships that already existed going into this new period of life. When these years are done, you’ll be a changed person, in most cases, for the better.
Anti-Semitism, a hatred of Jews, has been present for centuries in many places. However, the term ‘Anti-Semitism’ itself only came into use in the nineteenth century, and along with it came an ideology which fuelled this deep psychological hatred to develop into a political movement which culminated in Nazism. Throughout history, the reasons for Anti-Semitism have differed and in Imperial Germany, it was a combination of religious, racial and political factors which led to such hostility toward Jews. However, the economic state of the nation is often thought to be the main reason behind the way in which Jews were treated during this period.
Many people crave the moment where they can just sit down, relax, and enjoy some free time. They could perhaps take a nice walk in a park, or possibly sit down and enjoy a movie on T.V. However, a large sum of people nationwide chooses to participate in a certain recreational activity to find their relaxation: smoking Marijuana. In fact, “Washington and Colorado are the first to allow adults to use the drug for recreational purposes” (Legalizing Marijuana, par 1). Unfortunately for half of our nation’s population, the use of the plant, Cannabis, was deemed illegal. “Before 1937, marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and smoked in the United States. Since that time, all of these activities have been illegal, but many groups and individuals have fought to decriminalize marijuana” (Rich, par 1). I find this preposterous! I believe that the federal government should look at what the people want, and pass the law making Marijuana legal, but of course having regulations to go along with it. Not only shall it please the people of the United States, but our economy could greatly benefit from legalizing Cannabis and it is an aid towards medical treatment. It would be to our nation’s best interest to have legislation legalize marijuana at not only the state level, but as a national level as well.
Hate is on-going. It seems to find its way into a person’s body. Then it is used to create uneasy situations. This is exactly what has been going on with the Jewish people since the beginning of their creation. Slaves in Egypt, Slaves to the Nazi’s, Slaves to hate. They get no break. Many think that the only huge discrimination act against Jews happened years ago, when World War 2 came to an end, but this isn’t true. From the early time of civilization to now, even the future, the Jews have to deal with being bullied and hated in the world.
Marijuana is a very hot topic and also brings a lot of controversy among the topics in the U.S today. Many believe it has medicinal benefits and should be made legal when necessary. Many believe it has a really high risk for abuse. Amongst those arguments, some of the ingredience in medical marijuana have presented a greater argument for possible legalization through their use of research and evidence of beneficial use
Amnesty International has done a lot of good deeds that helped people and made a just society to some extent. It has been fulfilling its goal to give everybody their human rights and even though it has been criticized for some problems overall it has been helping rather than hindering. In my personal opinion it has helped a lot more and has looked at more 47,000 documents and cases, which in turn helped the world, at least for the most part. Amnesty International is an organization respected for leading and representing human rights and in my opinion it should still be viewed that way.
Having spent twelve years of my school life in just one small red brick building, the years tend to fade into each other. But the year I remember most clearly and significantly is my senior year of high school, where I finally began to appreciate what this institution offered to any student who stopped to look. Before, school had been a chore, many times I simply did not feel motivated toward a subject enough to do the homework well, and seeing the same familiar faces around ever since I was 5 years old grew very tiring soon enough. But I began to see things from a different angle once I became a senior.