The glass was crystal clear but for a tiny chip on the rim, the fog created a blurry transparency by my breath and addressed the smudged finger marks. My mouth dry and lips cracked from lack of fluid, savored the ice The glass was a beautiful sight and the water even more so. I could feel my throat shivering from the icy flow of fluids hasty running down my esophagus. The swath of feelings that made my body quiver of excitement. All of this satisfaction came from a drink, the drink that only mattered at that moment, the one who brought pleasure to my thirsty mouth, it was like heaven brought to earth. Yet, it belonged there, in the isolated mysterious room. Nobody entered there except the employees, but just by walking by it you could feel the frosty airbrushing through your arms that imminently made you step away from it. They brought this stunning refreshment from this room within the saloon. It is the old west? How is it possible to keep it freezing in here? The only thing that was brought up to mind was the river, the ice-cold river that my grandma told me about. Everyone in town knew that jumping in there was virulent. You could freeze to death by attempting to swim in there. They probably moved the water, perhaps take big pieces of ice, into a container, a big giant bowl, and stored their bottles of beer in it. That was the only way I could imagine to store such heavenly drink that brought contentment to many.
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A breeze, a cold air rushing through the dry plants that surround the bright red structure that gave a semi-virulent smell that covered the whole entire Simmens’ building. The animals, the smell, the plants, the structure, all of it was not as bright or formidable as the color or the barn itself. Nothing else interested the young ruth more than why the barn was red. As a teenager, she understood the purpose of the barn, but not the color.
“Mrs. Simmens, I’ve observed your barn for the last couple of days and I have a quick questions in regards to the color of the barn. Why is it red?” ruth asked as she crossed her arms with great curiosity and concern. “Well, Ruth. That’s a very good question and there’s quite a funny story behind it, and it’s probably not as interesting” Mrs. Simmens answered with a relaxed voice, yet at she finished her sentence she squinted her eyes trying to think about it. “I would love to know the reason and story behind it, I have been looking for an answer and your story will definitely help” Ruth uncrossed her arms as she also lifted and fixed her posture with her eyes beseeching for a reply. “Well, to be honest it was the budget. Nathan and I were talking about how much money we had to make this barn, and honestly I just said ‘ Nathan we have no money’. We thought about it thoroughly and saw that red was the cheapest color we could find to paint the barn.” She said as if there was no haste. “Is that really it? I thought there was a whole meaning behind it, perhaps that was the only color that the animals saw, it could’ve been to protect the animals from supernatural spirits, or something like a cultural legend” ruth responded with an upset and disappointed voice. “Well ruth, I guess we’ll never be satisfied. Not everything is what we expect it to be, and you know what that is called? Re-a-li-ty. I’m sorry little girl, maybe you can make your own story, or maybe understand that when you make your own barn,” She answered with such a real statement to Ruth’s voice that seemed upset. Ruth ran away before Mrs. Simmens said something else. She finally realized that you can’t have anything in life, but that if you never ask, you’ll never know. For my honors project, my group decided to read a book. We chose to read Flapper by Joshua Zeitz! It's a book about the 1920s and how women were back then. The book starts off by giving us an introduction to Euguina Kelly, a rebellious that acted against her mother's beliefs. She is known to be this reckless wealthy girl who loves to go to jazz clubs, get closer to older men and dancing. Her mother is against all of the "freedom" she is giving herself, even though she is already in her early twenties. She influenced the flapper lifestyle into so many young women. Zelda Sayre was very influenced by it, another important character we are introduced to, and she lived her life to the fullest. She didn't care about the consequences and she would be a perfect example of the term we use today, YOLO (you only live once). The author really goes into detail about her life and her love relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote The Great Gatsby. Here the author really goes deep into the story between these two and how the flapper lifestyle affected them both. A great amount of parents diagreed with such life, it was rebellious and reckless. One example that really caught my attention regarding the life of the young women from a parental perspective was the "Devil's Wagon". Conservative and victorian parents saw automobiles as such a high technology tool for young people to use to lose contact with their parents. The thought that it was a way for the youngsters to escape the supervision of their form of authority. I think that this can still be displayed today, lots of people are still trying to escape that "boss" figure from their life. We are so influence by social media on how we are supposed to be, look like, and live like. We need to follow these trends in order for us to be accepted in society. I agree on that aspect with parents but we must leave room for our modern world to develop productively.
Throughout the discussion between the natives, promoters, colonists, all three groups got to share their perspectives on several situations that happened in the New World. They talked about giving back, general peace, freedom, security, support, and money. There were more than enough points brought up in the “fishbowl” discussion that needed to be discussed. It was interesting to see how they got into character and said what they needed and wanted to say. All three groups communicated about miscommunication, and all brought different proposals about how they could change the tense situation for the better. I think that the promoters were good at talking about what happened and what they expected while collecting information to create a solid and strong proposal. However, everyone did a good job overall getting into character and sharing their piece of mind. I think that it's such a great way to discuss things, even though it might be a bit unorganized, yet it still felt simple and comfortable. It created an atmosphere that everyone was comfortable in. I think that some of the most interesting points brought up during the discussion were when the natives were telling the promoters why they allowed the colonists to be so violent and treat the natives like worthless humans. It was interesting because the promoters weren't even there to see it, so they could say that they didn't do it yet they were the ones sponsoring such trip to the Americas. I was a bit confused though, especially when the natives wanted to stay neutral and the same but yet they relied so much on the colonists like I don't think the natives went in depth on that and left me with some questions. I would love to learn more about the promoter's "dreams and visions". They never set a foot in the new world but yet they were so sure and confident about what they talked about the new world and how they promoted it. I also want to know how the forced colonists felt and what they had to go through in the new world and how they felt about this new world.
His sojourn at home was shorter than everyone expected. He had been away from home for a year already, no one could understand why. He would now plunder jewels from the jewelry stores menacing the store owners to give them up so he could sell them to get his hands on his addiction. That only thing he could succumb to, his mind saw it as an infallible gift that could only be captured by beseeching for it. He would only come home 2 times a month, but this he has currently only been coming home on my birthday. I knew that all of this was a motley of reasons that led him to hate the drudgery of just being at home. It was sad, especially for me, to see him struggle to subdue his addiction. There was no predilection in between any of the children, but the youngest one is always special, he was special. And as I was sitting there trying not to extrapolate this situation I shared with my mom how everything was making me assume his future. “He told me that I was never there for him, that I never worried about what he thought and what he was going through. That even though we lived under the same roof, he felt invisible. He felt that he was trapped in this eternal prison. He couldn’t be free from his fear, from his consuming emotions. That I was never there to ask how he was doing, and that I wouldn’t value his presence until I lost him.” I said as my tears amassed in my eyes and let my face be covered in sadness. My mother looked at me suffering, but there was nothing she could do so she just said nothing. My tears could depict my feelings but that past was now an antiquity that haunted me for the rest of my years. I couldn’t be a Mother, I didn’t pursue reciprocity and I couldn’t change that anymore. He was gone. I didn't notice much patterns during the scavenger hunt at Balboa Park. However, I was able to see that there was lots of historical objects/items, paintings, buildings, papers. I think that they sort of all connected in the way that they influenced how we are now, in the aspect that those are the origins of where we live in now. I think it's very interesting how they were all so detailed and kind of focused on early and native history of the country but more specifically in the state.
I think the most interesting artifacts from the scavenger hunt were the ones involving the structure of the beautiful and grand buildings and the japanese history items. I think that those really caught my attention because, for the buildings, the all sort fo have to do with the religious of ancient time inspired designs. Buildings aren't as deatiled and as big anymore, so it's interesting to see how things were before in the aspect that they probably had to work a lot more and to be more detailed when building these. In regards to the Japanese history, when we went into the room we saw lots of things that I thought were really unique. I think that I honestly, and personally, wasn't able to find much information because we were too focused on finding the artifacts and to get as much as we could. We should'vee read the intrsuctions more carefully and looked for what we were actually supposed to do, I hope that this experience helps us learn how to follow instructions better. But, besides all of that, I did look into a I think that the museum was more for a younger audience, there was places that the kids could interact with the history and content that was hopefully delievered to them. It was quite bright and there was lots of ways that I can see the kids be interested in it, like the costumes. Costumes are a great way to get kids involved and engaged. The story of peter and thw wolf was definitely for kids. It was a very simple story and I appreciated how he was able to look at it from a different perspective, from a kid's point of view to be exact. I think that it was interesting how he used simple tools to tell the story, he did a great use of those low budget materials to tell a story and use simple to music to make it interesting. He also made it interact with the kids, and I appreciated that. It must be hard to do it all alone but I am glad that he's happy doing it. I think that he over exaggerated for the kids because that's definitely a way to get their attention. I think that we have to be super creative to get their attention because kids have such an imaginative mind, so when we do ths we have to think about how we could see this from a different perspective. If we want to it for a kid, we have to think like a kid. The person that evaluated my index card with the five drawings that represent myself did a good job I would say. He said that I was a Spanish speaker and that I played piano. He also said that maybe I had a lot friends, implying that I was social. think that part must've been misunderstood but I think that I understand why he thought of that. He also saw the leaf and maybe thought I was very interested in plants. He was partly correct and partly incorrect. He did misunderstand some things but I understand why, somewhat.
But, now I will explain what they actually mean! First of all, the piano represents my love and passion for music. Secondly, I drew a magnifying glass and some leaves around it to explain that I love exploring, and one of the things that I love exploring is nature. Then, I drew a group of people holding hands, which actually means unity. I am very united with my family and have strong and close relationships with them. I also drew a Mexican flag to represent my race, culture and identity. Showing that I am proud of my culture and am not ashamed of representing it. Lastly, I drew two people talking to each other but not understanding what they're saying to each other. I am very interested in languages and cultures. I am so curious about traditions, manners, greetings, religion etc. I love people and how we differ but how there's values and worth in each person. Learning about people and their cultures helps me understand them even more and learn about how they react to certain situation, like political views. As Lenina accepted to go to the Savage Reservation with Bernard they headed to it and found something different. They were disguted to find these new things. The reservation have people that have families and abies are born in their natural way. Bernard and Lenina reacted with opposition and disgust to these changes in society. Being able to see their reaction it gave an insight on how brainwashed the people at the World State are. As they explored the reservation they met John, a young handsome man in an indian dress. Bernard and Lenina find out that John's mother Linda was from the world state and met the Director. They were together and had a child. However, Linda suffered an injury while visiting the reservation and some villagers rescued her and has stayed there ever since. With this unexpected discovery Bernard thinks that he should take John and Linda to the World State to embarrass the Director. When Bernard and Lenina do that John became known as “the savage.” At first, Bernard was praised for this discovery and for being "the savage's" guardian. John later seems to be portrayed as a display to others and Bernard only does it to show his success. John explores the World State and its horrified by its intentions and realized he was being used as an object of display. Lenina is attracted to John and develops feelings for him. John misunderstood her feelings because he wasn't given any background information on the society. He realized that people were unable to live for themselves so he went to a lighthouse in the countryside to isolate himself. He was constantly then ridiculed for his life and way of living. So basically, he was not accepted in any way by this new society. In the end of the book, John is driven crazy by this unreal society to him and ends up killing himself. One aspect I see in society that relates to the book is the isolation and descrimination of people who are different. In today's society anyone who is different is ignored or look down on. Though we are striving to fix this problem, it is still present. Other than that everything is pretty much the opposite. In our society we have unorthodox of many types and in the book unorthodox is a fear that one day might litter their society. I have mixed feelings about this book. I like it, but don’t like it at the same time. It was really interesting to see the difference in society. I would only recommend this book to someone if they wanted to see how the world would be if it weren't like nowadays. It can get weird at times and would definitely understand if someone didn't like it but I think we sometimes need to think about this stuff.
I will comment on Paulina and Jenny's post. After being introduced to the way that the Hatchery and Conditioning centre works we are now introduced to different places, a garden to be exact. In the garden there's a large amount of naked children playing with each other running around. The Director is interrupted by the cries of a little boy sitting in the bushes separated from everyone. The director later finds out that the boy is uncomfortable with the erotic play in which the children are expected to participate in. Then the director sends the little boy to see the psychologist. The Director also explains the students that sexual play during childhood and adolescence used to be considered abnormal and immoral, that it wasn't something they would do just out of nowhere. This seems to surprise the student in a very interesting way. As the director talks to the students about the world before a man comes in interrupts. Mustapha Mond comes in and talks to the students. The students are overwhelmed by meeting Mond, the Resident Controller for Western Europe, and one of only ten World Controllers. So, basically the smartest person at the World State. Mond begins to describe life in the time before the World State began its policy of tight control. He talks about the Nine Years War and the biological and chemical involvement in the tense and horrendous war. We also are noted that Henry and Lenina are heading to the changing room to prepare for their "date". However, Bernard Marx, who is known to have an unpleasant reputation, seems to overhear the conversation between Henry and the Assistant about Lenina. Henry tells the Assistant that he should “have her” some time. The conversation disgusts Bernard in some way, even though he's not related to Lenina. While that happens in the men's room Lenina and Fanny Crowne talk about Lenina's relationship status. Fanny is surprised that Lenina is still dating Henry after four months, even though he has other women. She advises Lenina to be more talk to other men. Lenina mentions that Bernard Marx, an Alpha Plus hypnopaedia specialist, asked her to to go the Savage Reservation with him. Fanny warns that Bernard has a bad reputation because he's not a normal Alpha. There's apparently a rumor of him, that someone injected alcohol into his bottle when he was a baby. He's different from all Alphas and lacks confidence. However, Lenina finds him charming. When Lenina tells Bernard in front of all coworkers that she accepts his invitation to the Savage Reservation, Bernard becomes shy and embarrassed. He later asks her to discuss with him about it privately. After he leaves, he meets with his friend Helmholtz Watson, who is in the other hand popular and very handsome. But their friendship sparked because of their disaatisfaction of their own jobs and other things. This book reminds me of Fahrenheit 451. It's interesting to see how there's restrictions, like of books, and they don't want people to be reminded of the world and its "dark" past. As we are introduced to different characters and their opinions it's interseting to see their perspective from living in such a world. Some of the characters that brought my attention were Henry and Bernard. We are introduced to Henry Foster in the beginning of the book and we have now found out that he’s a very open Alpha who is committed to this work but doesn’t really know how to handle his relationship with Lenina. He seems to offer Lenina to other workers at the World State, which for me seems to be such a bad thing. He is a perfectly conventional Alpha male, casually discussing Lenina’s body with his coworkers. His success with Lenina, and his casual attitude about it, infuriate the jealous Bernard. In the other hand Bernard is an Alpha male who fails to fit in because of his inferior physical stature. He holds unorthodox beliefs about sexual relationships, sports, and community events. His insecurity about his size and status makes him discontented with the World State. The government structure is a little different from ours today, in the way that the government is very involved in child development. All the humans are created by the government and put into certain classes. They prioritize others and some they electrecute. The higher class doesn’t suffer as much and have large roles in the community. Of course there’s some similarities like the advancement of technology and science, and it’s great appliance to our community.
I will comment on Paulina and Jenny’s blog posts. |
AuthorPaola Toledo Real Archives
October 2018
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