Janie

Janie, There is so much that I can say about how she thinks, acts, and how she is a good and bad person. Other people might think the same or agree with me but some may not so they will be opinions of course. Janie’s character in Their Eyes Were Watching God is really very great.

In the story, Janie’s thinking is very good in my opinion. She knows when things are not and are good. She thinks that a woman should be respected just like men are which I also think should be done. Also, she has a dream of finding love and not a marriage because of wealth and status. Throughout the story she has many thoughts about those things and more and I agree with Janie a lot because they are great thoughts in my opinion.

Janie’s actions may not always be the best but there are a few that I think are great. Some that weren't quite the best actions she could have done is to marry Logan Killicks when she didn't love him (although Nanny did pressure her into the marriage) and also just leaving Logan to go to Florida with Joe who she had just talked to a few times and did not know very well. Good actions were when Janie finally stood up for herself against Joe when he was humiliating her very badly in the store (besides all the other years of humiliation he gave her) and when she was trying to stop the men from teasing the poor mule even though he was funny-looking and not even hers.

I believe Janie to be more of a good person than bad. My reason for that opinion is that although she has, like all human beings, committed mistakes, she still at least stands up for what is right and doesn't care about being judged for it. For example, when she begins her relationship with a poor guy named Tea Cake she didn't care that he wasn't as rich as her like even though all the other people in the town said it was not a good idea.

Thankful for a Classmate (or classmates in my case)

This thanksgiving I know I am thankful for many things this year. I am thankful for my mom still being with my brother, sister, and I. Another thing I am thankful for is to continue being at Whitney no matter how many times I felt it wasn't the right school for me. I'm even thankful to have done cross country this year even though it was hard and very time consuming. There are many things, even if they are tiny, that you can be thankful for.

I would like to say that I am thankful for two of my classmates. One is Martyna and the other Brashana. They both are great people that I am thankful to have talked more to because of English class. They both are really great at expressing their ideas and opinions and sometimes even leave me thinking a lot about something. Group work with them is great because we always can come up with something no matter how much our ideas are different.

I do not think they are great just because of school stuff but they are amazing people even besides it. They can always make me laugh during class even when I am having not so good days. It's the little things that can make a change in someone's day.

Martyna and Brashana are amazing, nice, and funny people and I am very thankful to know them.  

But Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Have a happy holiday, break and don’t forget to enjoy the food!

Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, a relatable yet unique man. He had a very adventurous life travelling to many places and doing many things in his lifetime but it was also a very tragic life as well. He traveled to many places in the world and had many events occurred in his lifetime that inspired his stories which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

In his lifetime, Hemingway traveled from Illinois to Paris to Cuba to Idaho. He went on safaris in Africa and even took part in bullfighting. He took part of World War I as an ambulance driver since the army refused to let him fight because of his poor eyesight. The Spanish Civil War was another war he took part of as a journalist. For World War II he volunteered for the Navy.  Hemingway worked with different newspaper companies like the Kansas City Star and the Toronto Star. Many events during the wars inspired him to write many of the stories he created. He wanted to part of as much as he could so he could write about it realistically and have the readers view what could not be seen.

Hemingway lived a life full of tragedy besides all the adventures. His childhood can be said to be a tragedy. Until the age of 6 his mother dressed him up as a girl with dresses and long hair. Another thing about his mother was that she was the head of the household and even had control of his father. Both of those things resulted in him trying to prove his masculinity during his lifetime. During the wars he participated in he got injured and very sick. For example, during World War II he got pneumonia and missed most of the battle he had been told to cover at Luxembourg. Also, he was involved in 2 plane crashes which impacted him. Other tragic events were the deaths of his loved ones like Hadley committing suicide after they divorced, his mother dying, Pauline’s death by a tumor, the deaths of good friends, and his son getting injured in an automobile accident. Hemingway was also getting many health issues because of his constant drinking and was also starting to get depression. He had over 2 suicide attempts and after going to a clinic and getting electroshock treatments his depression got worse because they ruined his memory and it would take him a week to write a paragraph of a story. He didn't see a point in living if he couldn't continue to write as well as he used to. After being released from the clinic and going home to his house in Idaho he committed suicide by shooting himself 3 days later. This was a very tragic way to die and I think that, even after the four marriages and the many affairs with other women that he had, he really did love Hadley. I believe that if he had not made the mistake to divorce her and her committing suicide after that, than he might have lived a bit longer because he did say that he had spent the rest of his life looking for another Hadley.

In my opinion Hemingway lived an adventurous life and changed the world of literature with his realistic and unique ways of writing, although physical and mental struggles, loss, death, and love were tragedies in Ernest Hemingway’s life.

Six Word Stories

Jordans: New in box, never worn

An old box & much excitement 

An envelope with a sad news 

A story with only six words 

The road headed towards the unknown 

A shot fired, someone's great loss

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

Hero. It is a word with many definitions. A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. It can be someone who is willingly able to risk their life to help and save someone else, whether it’s someone they know or never met. Or it can just be someone who does a good deed thinking about helping someone or others.

In The Crucible, John Proctor, in my opinion, is a hero. Yes, he committed adultery and also lied to many about seeing Abigail, including his wife Elizabeth. But everyone makes mistakes that we regret because he did regret it and felt ashamed of what he did. He also only lied to protect Elizabeth from getting her feelings hurt because he loves her.

In the end, he confessed everything to save the life of Elizabeth who, if pregnant, only had one more year of life. I consider him a hero for stepping up after his confusion and his feelings of what to do. He could have just let Elizabeth die and no one really ever had to know about the affair but he did the right thing in the end.

There Goes The Neighborhood

The beautiful blue sky and the usual light blue sea, a normal day here in the island. I was in the woods looking for random objects I sometimes found like weirdly shaped stones and hunting for berries at the same time. It was my usual task to do as a “young girl” as everyone called me, although I felt like I was old enough to do anything.

After I filled my basket about half full I heard a sudden scream in the distance. It was my father, he yelled words I could not understand from the distance. I dropped my basket,  the berries falling out and rolling all over, and ran as fast as my legs could take me towards the yelling. Took me only a short while to reach the sea which was where everyone started to gather. I went up to my father and asked him what had occurred and he responded saying that he spotted a large unknown ship coming towards the island. I watched him as he ordered the men to have weapons on hand in case it was not a friendly group of people. We always believed things could be solved without the need of weapons but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

As the unknown ship came closer we all stood behind the men waiting for it to stop so we could ask who they were and what they wanted here. We weren’t frightened of the unknown, but we needed to know it was safe for us the people and nature as well. It got nearer and nearer and I was curious to know what the people, on a large ship and not a canoe, were like and if they looked like us.

The ship stopped a distance away and I could see the shapes of many men on it with the women in sight. They were strangely dressed in so many layers and I have never seen anyone like them before. I wanted them to come nearer so I could study these strange men and ask how they found the island, why they dressed in so much clothing unlike us, and most importantly, what their intentions were.

All I could do was wait, curiosity driving my mind crazy, for the unknown humans to finally decide to either come to the island or for my father to decide that a few men and himself should go on a canoe to get closer and speak to them.

About Me

Hey, I am Nayeli age 14 and attend Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. I am currently a sophomore and am doing Cross Country in school, although I did softball last year and hope to do once again. I graduated from San Miguel which is a middle school in my neighborhood. I was born in Van Nuys, California and attended two elementary schools there, Broadous T Elementary & Linda Verde, before coming to Chicago when I was seven (in the middle of third grade) and attended Hedges Elementary School, before transferring to San Miguel.

I live with my mom, thirteen year old sister, and my five year old brother. A fact about me is that I am an extremely shy person and have problems with public speaking and doing things with people around, but I love to sing and am taking choir as my elective again. Piano is an instrument I would like to learn how to play though. I do not have a favorite subject but hope that at least one of my teachers will actually get me interested in a subject this year. This summer I did babysitting and tutored a third grader because I really love helping people. I also did Cross Country everyday and of course hanged out with friends. Another fact about me is that I want to be an FBI Agent and hope I can reach my goal of becoming one.

My favorite band is Bring Me The Horizon, favorite colors are black and blue, and favorite food is pizza. I surprisingly do not have a favorite movie, book, or tv show but I used to love watching The Walking Dead.