Farewell

     It feels as if a month ago I was taking my AP English composition exam. It feels as if it was just a week ago when we started attending our AP summer session. In the blink of an eye, here I am sitting in my room writing what my favorite piece of literature is after this long yet short year. Many pieces of literature were read but none caught my attention with a stronger grasp than The Great Gatsby novel. Although I disliked many of the characters in the book, I formed a special bond with characters whom represented different aspects in my life. I could relate to most characters in variance.
     Gatsby is the main character in the novel. In the scene where he is having his first conversation with Nick, the narrator, Gatsby is very careful with his choice of words. This relates to me since I am always cautious with my words around people I am unfamiliar with as I am trying to gain earn their approval. Nick is the narrator of the story. Nick is a honest person and does not judge others. I could say the same about myself. Similarly to Nick, I analyze people and try to understand them without judging them. Daisy is Gatsby's love interest who also happens to be married to a rich man named Tom. At times Daisy acts unaware of certain situations so she does not get hurt. When I hear hurtful comments towards me, I act as if I did not hear it or as if I didn't understand it as if I'm a fool. But my foolishness is not the reason. It is my inability to handle the rude comments which enforces my ignorance.
     Aside from my favorite piece of literature, I had an unforgettful year. Thank you for the memories Ms. Kirkman and my classmates from the 2014 to 2015 AP English Composition class.

Osama Bin Laden Afghan Hideout Photos Revealed

"Rare photos reveal Osama bin Laden's Afghan hideout"
By: Phil Hirschkorn and Peter Bergen
Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/11/world/osama-bin-laden-hideout-photos/?iid=ob_homepage_featured_pool&iref=obnetwork

     Osama bin Laden is the infamous founder of the military organization Al Qaeda who were responsible for the Twin Tower terrorist attacks. Before bin Laden went to hide in Pakistan, which was his final location before he was found and executed, he was hiding away in Afghanistan. Photos of him have been revealed during the times he went to hideout after the 9/11 attacks. The photos feature bin Laden in his military clothes, at times holding a weapon. The photos show him in different locations including the outdoors, inside his home, and in front of the books that he used as the background to record videos and send messages that needed to be delivered. Other photos show the outside of his house and the roads to get there from a town I'm Afghanistan called Jalalabad. Supporters of bin Laden are also pictured and displayed. The graphics show a great depiction of how life was for Osama while be was hiding out.

     Although the government claims that they have executed Osama bin Laden, many believe that this statement is just a hoax. The government has lied about other matters and has held many secrets from its citizens. After years of searching for bin Laden, it would look bad for America to not be able to find a man. America could have simply released a lie that Osama had been executed so that the citizens would relax. No proof has been given of Osama's death. His body has not been seen. The people are not guaranteed anything because what the government tells us might be a lie.

Boko Haram

"Boko Haram purportedly pledges allegiance to ISIS"

By: Nima Elbagir, Paul Cruickshank and Mohammed Tawfeeq

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/07/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-isis/

      
     Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist terror group centered in Nigeria that was originally part of Al Qaeda reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS. In an audio message released on Saturday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged his loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Jacob Zenn, an expert on the ISIS terror group believes that the main reason Boko Haram joined ISIS is so they can appear as a legitimate terror group, which well then lead to an increase in recruiting and funding as the terror group plans to expand into the French-speaking nation of West Africa from Nigeria. The merging will become official as soon as an ISIS official issues a statement. The CIA believes that the two massive terror groups will have trouble getting along despite the fact that they share many beliefs. Many disagreements will probably stem from the ISIS leaders' racist views towards blacks. Boko Haram has been largely successful in instilling Islamic Sharia law in many parts of Nigeria, and soon this influence will spread even more, like it already has in the nations of Chad and Cameroon. 

     The joining of Middle Eastern ISIS and Nigerian Boko Haram is a serious issue because these two terrorist groups are extremely dangerous individually, so them joining is not a good sign. The United States must step up its methods of dealing with terrorists so that they can do a better job at making the world a safer place. Hopefully governments around the world will work to take care of this ominous threat terrorizing the world.

Gender Roles

     The government tries to make citizens believe that the country they live in is equal no matter what religion, color, or race. No matter how many laws are passed or however many protests are given, there will never be complete equality between genders. Every gender has a role and these roles have been cultural since thousands of years ago.
     A woman will always be looked at as a precious, fragile ,and emotional. Of course this is a stereotype but the media has shaped women into looking like this. A woman is expected to watch the children and keep the house tidy. The woman is expected to cook and clean. Back then, most women were stay at ho!e moms but this has recently changed. Many women are employed and in some houses pay most of the bills.
     Men are expected to be strong, masculine, touch and rough. It is mostly looked down upon if a man has more feelings than he should. Society would label him as a homosexual even though he might not be one. Men are expected to do most of the repairs at home which can include fixing the television or fixing a broken pipe or plunging a toilet or fixing a cabinet. Men are taught to not care and play with cars and masculine toys from the day they are born. They are taught to like a specific color and treated better and different than girl babies. Most families prefer to have male babies to pass down the family name and are quite disappointed when the offspring is a female.

Family Guy Stereotypes

     This video is a few clips of stereotyping used in the show Family Guy. The first stereotype used in the clip is the stereotyping of Asian people with their bad driving skills and how this causes a major car collsion . The second stereotype is how Japanese girls think everything that is small Is cute while also stereotyping their accents. The third stereotypes African American people who talk to much and repeat the same sentence irrelevantly multiple times. The fourth stereotype shows how Mexicans win a game during the Olympics because of their great ability to clean and sweep. The fifth shows how Italian people always try to act tough and make themselves look dangerous if someone were to get on their bad side. The sixth stereotypes Asian people being smart and Asian parents pushing their kids to become doctors at a young age. The seventh stereotypes black people always saying ,"Mhmm". And finally, the eighth stereotypes Arab people being suicide bombers.
     Of course these are all extreme cases of stereotypes. An Asian woman would not purposely cause a car collision. An Asian father would not ignore his son knowing that his son is 12 years of age and not of age to be a doctor yet. Not all Arabs are suicide bombers. Not all African Americans and Italians talk that way. All of this is clearly made for entertainment purposes and is not meant to offend anyone. The use of satire exaggeration extends the comedy and gives a good laugh to audience members who might relate to the case.

http://youtu.be/zFeNLEnV8r4

The Oscars

"Nation Delighted As Many Famous People In The Same Room Together"
By: Unknown
Source: The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation-delighted-as-many-famous-people-in-same-roo,38064/

     This article shows a picture of the Oscars. The Oscars is a popular televised event which most celebrities attend to either receive awards for their latest cinematic achievements or to support their friends or family involved in the television or cinema entertainment industry. This article talks about how spectacular it is that so many celebrities are all gathered in one place together. The author of the emphasizes how special it is and how happy it makes people with mediocre lives to watch many celebrities be in one room together. Cathy Parker states, " I like seeing famous people, but I like it even better when I see a whole bunch of famous people all near each other in a big room." Parker continues on to say," look how close they are. There's so many different ones. I like when one stands up and goes up the stairs and starts talking. My favorite is when one famous person says something that makes the other famous people laugh."
     All of this might be exaggerated but it does have some truth to it. The media loves watching a group of famous people all interacting together and cracking jokes and having each others spectacular lives cross paths with the others. But the author of the article makes fun of the fact that people are so amused by this. She makes fun of the fact that regular people idolize celebrities so much that just the fact of seeing them tovether  and interacting causes the media to get excited.

Beautiful Little Fool

“All right… I’m glad it’s a girl. I hope she’ll be a fool–that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool… You see, I think everything’s terrible anyhow… And I know. I’ve been everywhere and seen everything and done everything.” (Fitzgerald, Chapter 1)

     Daisy Buchanan delivered this quote in chapter one of the Great Gatsby book. She found out that one of her friends were pregnant and it was a girl. She was glad about this because she believes that as long as a girl is a fool, she will live better. If a girl is not a fool, she will get her feelings hurt easily and she will always be in dread and sorrow worrying about everything. But if a girl is a fool, she will be careless and not understand what is going on. That is also how she wishes her daughter to be. Men treat women like toys and unless a girl is a fool, she will always get hurt knowing her husband or man is playing her. Daisy has experienced this with Tom. Daisy knows Tom has a mistress in New York. Tom's mistress rings him all the time and the rumor has spread everywhere. Daisy is very hurt because of this. Tom and Daisy constantly fight and argue because of Tom's affairs which eventually leads Daisy to have an affair with Gatsby. As dumb and annoying as Daisy is, she is still smart enough to figure out what Tom is doing behind her back. Daisy believes that as long as a girl is dumb and a fool and has a pretty face, she will get along well. Other than that, she will always have troubles worrying and such. Daisy has gone through a lot, done it all, and been through it all and hope all girls are beautiful fools because it is the best thing a girl can be.

2015 State of the Union Address

"FactChecking Obama's State of the Union"
By: Eugene Kiely, Brooks Jackson, Lori Robertson, Robert Farley, D’Angelo Gore, Carolyn Fante and Eden Everwine
Source: FactCheck.Org
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/01/factchecking-obamas-state-of-the-union/

     On January 20, 2015, President Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, delivered his State of the Union speech in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives. Obama was invited on December 19 by Speaker of the House, John Boehner, as a tradition. The speech was addressed to the 114th United States Congress. The speech was broadcasted among many televisions, radios, and webcasts from the White House. Many famous guests attended the speech hearing. Guests included First Lady Michelle Obama, Astronaut Scott Kelly, former Cuba prisoner Alan Gross, immigration reform activist Ana Zamora, Dr. Pramav Shetty, education beneficiary Rebeka Erler, and many others. The focus point of the speech was improving the American economic situation and fighting against terrorism which was mostly directed to the threats and damages of ISIS. Obama suggested making community colleges free. He made a proposal for new taxes in Wall Street. Obama also stated that he would have no more campaigns since he already won both of them. This speech was very significant because it was the first time that a United States president had used words like "lesbian", "gay", "transgender", and "bisexual" in a State of the Union Address to protect human equality rights.
     Obama's speech was very effective and smart and impacted the citizens of United States. His speech gave bisexuals, gays, lesbians, and transgenders more freedom and a chance to live their life without fear. The law now protects people who have same sex relations. People will now have more freedom and better education.

MLK Day

"Martin Luther King Day in United States"
By: Unknown
Source: Time and Date
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/martin-luther-king-day
 
     Today is a national holiday in the United States of America, celebrating the birth of Martin Luther King Junior. This holiday is one of the new holidays for America. Martin Luther King was a strong, brave, and courageous man who fought for African American peoples civil rights and beat discrimination. He had many students and pupils following his footsteps who still carry out his duties to keep equality between races. Schools, jobs, banks, and businesses are all closed on this day to celebrate the birth of such a powerful human. His "I Have A Dream" speech is still taught in school all over America and his biography and accomplishments are all part of history or social studies. Unfortunately, after winning a Nobel Peace Prize, King was assassinated in 1968. Shortly after he died, documents were written and signed to have a day dedicated to Martin Luther King which was his birthday. Millions of people mourned his death and people, whether black or white, continue to commemorate his life by dedicating a day to him.
     Martin Luther King was a brave, powerful man who led the African Americans to their freedom. Men and women to this power deserve to be recognized nationwide. King went through major trouble to win the freedom of his kind and this included going to prison for his people and getting shot. But this did not stop him. He continued fighting and protesting until he had millions of followers and until freedom was granted for his people.

Angel Party

     Most people love attending large and wild parties. The bigger the party, the better. Imagine going to a rave style party on the beach where everyone is invited. It is a hot summer night in Miami, Florida and people are coming down to drink and dance after a long day of work. The DJ is blasting the music so loud that even in the open, it is hard to hear each other. DJs like Tiesto, Avicii, David Guetta, and Martin Garrix are spinning record tables. Rappers like Kanye West, Jay-Z, G-Eazy, Chris Brown, and Drake are all performing. There is more than a thousand people dancing in the sand. The girls are in bikinis decorated with face paint and jewelry while the boys are in swim trunks with their chests painted. Everyone is having a good time. There is an open bar and all drinks are complimentary. The bar tenders make amazing drinks. In back of the bar on a high stage are multiple female dancers dressed in very provocative clothing. They are dancing very promiscuously. Everyone is invited but one must enter by the purchase of a ticket. Tickets for women are $15 but $20 for men. The crowd is getting bigger by the hour and the music is getting louder. There are some people dancing while in the water with their drinks held high. When the party is at its loudest and largest, a helicopter flies over the area and starts splashing everyone with neon paint. In a matter of minutes, everyone is splashed with paint from head to toe. The colors on everyone are mixed as people dance on each other. At the end of the night, the drunk people fall asleep on the sand while the sober ones leave looking forward to visit again.

Prohibition and the Gangsters

     The Prohibition era in America was a tough time. This was the era that gangsters became famous. In the 1920s, the 18th amendment was passed to ban the use or consumption of alcohol. Alcohol was no longer to be sold or manufactured. This amendment was signed in the 1920s when women wanted their husbands home and Christians wanted to stop the sinning of alcohol consumption. This amendment led to gangs being formed which led to the outbreak of major crimes. Each city had its own major gang. One of the biggest and most infamous gangs known was the gang in Chicago led by Al Capone.
   
      Johnny Torrio was the gang leader in Chicago. Al Capone was working for him. Torrio would send Capone to do his dirty work which would include scaring Torrios rivals so that they would leave their territory so that he would take over. Capone would also be the one who would bargain Torrios alcohol and sell it to consumers. Capone was one of the best gangsters that ever lived. He was very good at his job. One day, in 1925, Torrio almost died at the hands of a rival gang. Torrio feared death so he decided to leave the underground criminal world. He left his gang under the leadership of Al Capone. Capone started making millions within two year. He was earning 65 million dollars a year only from alcohol and an additional 45 million from side jobs. He bribed many people to keep him hidden but was unfortunately caught in 1931 and sent to jail for 11 years. When he got released from prison, he was no longer the same man he was back then.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/prohibition_and_the_gangsters.htm

Young Suicide Bomber

"Suicide Bombing By Young Girl Kills At Least 16 In Nigeria's Maiduguri"
By: Reuters
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/10/girl-suicide-bombing-maiduguri_n_6448518.html

     On January 10, 2015, a suicide bombing took place during the afternoon in a busy market in the city of Maiduguri in Nigeria. Security witnesses confirmed the suicide bomber was a young girl not aged more than ten years. She had the explosives wrapped around her body and killed sixteen people while leaving more than twenty injured. It was later confirmed that a total of twenty seven people were in the hospital. Suicide bombers had become common in Maiduguri which is a Sunni Muslim area. Nigeria has been facing many problems. Last year, about ten thousand people were killed in Nigeria. These crimes have become a heavy weight to carry for Nigeria's president Goodluck Johnathan who will be running for reelection on February 14.
     The Muslims are getting rougher and more aggressive by the day. The number of deaths in Muslim territories is increasing and the terrorism and becoming more violent. A poor ten year old child was brainwashed into a suicide bombing. She had not grown, fully developed, or had experienced much of life. A soul was wasted on a pointless market attack which was was done for medias attention. There are other ways of getting attention. Taking a young girls life shows how ruthless they are. One should grow up and experience life. This girl never got to grow up and experience anything. Her life was cut short. The idea behind suicide bombing is horrible. especially when the bomber is just a child. when the bomber is a child, it is not suicide. it is murder. because the child was not old enough to realize what she was doing.