Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Kindred

      Do you have a goal you want to accomplish? Kindred is a novel written by Octavia Butler. It's main character is a woman named Dana. She travels back in time to save her ancestor from many challenges, like slavery, constant beatings, and deadly deceases. A message that Octavia Butler was trying to get by in "Kindred" is to fight for your rights and goals, and to not let any barriers get in your way.
      I am going to give evidence from Kindred that showcases Butler's message. To prove my point, here is an exert from page 260, "he brought up the fist of his free hand to punch me once, and again as the patroller had done so long ago. I pulled the knife free from him somehow, raised it, and brought it down again into his back." This quote shows that Dana wouldn't let Rufus take away her rights, at any cost, and defended herself. This shows how hegemony effected Rufus making him think that raping Dana was okay, but Dana resisted it and stopped Rufus. Another exert from Kindred is on page 43, "I grasped it with both hands and brought it down as hard as I could on his head." This shows how Dana defended herself from the patroller that was trying to rape her. This is showing social condition, because the patroller thought it was fine to rape Dana, because she was black. This paragraph shows how Dana fought for her rights and didn't let barriers get in her way.
      An example from other people who fought for what they believed in is when Nat Turner refused to be treated any lower than a white man. so he and other slaves revolted and killed their masters. This shows how Nat Turner resisted his social condition and trying to free himself from his oppression. Another example is when Cesar Chavez spoke out against the mistreatment of migrant farmworkers. This shows Cesar Chavez resisting his conditions and getting better respect for himself and all of the migrant farmworkers. As you can see you can even find Butler's message in the real world.
      Now I am going to give personal experiences that I have had that connects with my thesis. An experience i have had is When I had a difficult time understanding a class, but kept practicing and studying and I passed the class. This shows that I had agency to preserver and keep trying to pass the class. Another experience is when one of my friends got singled out, because of his race, so I spoke out against it. This shows that I wouldn't let barriers effect someone else's life. This reveals how the message of Kindred can be seen in my life.
      Now that you've read my essay, you will agree with me that one of Octavia Butler's messages, is to fight for your rights. You should fight for what you believe in, and not give up on your goals. "Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." -Richard L. Evan

Monday, May 23, 2011

This is a Poem

Trying to climb
the ladder of success
but always getting
pushed back down.

Trying to soar
trying to rise above the rest
but just getting
shot back down to earth.

A leaf being swept 
away in the wind
feeling helpless.

All these barriers and obstacles
beating me down
making me give up 
but I just keep moving forward.

Monday, March 14, 2011

School Budget Cuts

My name is Randy Vo and I am a 8th grader at Urban Promise Academy in Oakland, CA.My school teaches me many interesting facts and information that I will need to be successful. Our school already struggles with violence. I am writing you so that you can fix the budget cuts from schools. Urban Promise Academy needs funding for field trips and school supplies. We also need money so that we can improve our campus. The things I will miss most from UPA if we do not get funding is the teachers. My education is very important to me. My education will allow me to get a successful future. I need to go to college so I can learn important information the will help me with future career. Oakland needs educated youth so that they can fix the messed up system that we live in. Please support my education by letting California vote on the tax extension measures. The future of California depends on high quality education for all.

Monday, March 7, 2011

College For All

The first college I visited was Santa Barbara. The college was really far from home. The bus ride there was 5hrs. The main form of transportation on campus is bikes. There were many buildings devoted to the student, to study or organize events. There is a beach next to the college, where students can cool down and surf.

The next college we went to was Cal Poly. They also had many buildings devoted to their students. There are many sports to play there. There is a huge recreation center, that is currently getting an indoor running track. There are multiple swimming pools in doors for all year.  
 

Sunday, February 27, 2011

America

A home to me


Mensing fear


Everywhere, adventure can be found


Righteous acts being committed   

Individuals think for themselves 


Criminals being arrested  


A home to me

Liberation

Without this form of oppression people would feel less paranoid and feel safe going to school. When free from this oppress people will be able to walk the streets without fear and everyone would have the opportunity to go to college to be successful, rather than struggle with financial problems. Individuals will be revealed from th oppression that is constantly impacting them. Individuals will be able to do things they enjoyed, but were afraid of making fun of, for it.

Oppression

People responsible for continuing this type of oppression are the bystanders, by not helping the oppressed and encouraging the oppressor to continue the bullying. Students oppress others because they were oppressed as well. Struggles in school can be seen occurring anywhere on the school campus or even at home with their homework. Struggles in school creates a barrier by distracting the students in class and affect the grades. People who experienced this form of oppression can feel excluded, dumb, or paranoid.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Expo Reflection

Expo was a very interesting experience and it taught me a lot. It helped me over come my fear of talking in public to strangers. I learned some struggles student might have to face at school and at home, and how to liberate these students. I hope that change will come to fix these problems for the sake of our future. I will try to help if I can.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

College for all


    Hello, my name Randy Vo, and I live I live in Oakland, CA.  The one word that I would use to describe my community is diverse. There is lots of violence and harmful things I’m forced to live around everyday, but there’s also lots of beauty and opportunities here.

    I have had many opportunities that been given to me also. I have had the chance to go on numerous field trips with my class to go see different High schools and colleges, to help me with choosing my options for my future education. I have had been able to intern at a local hospital for a few weeks, learning about what happens in an actual hospital and helping out a little. Afterwards you are paid $300. My school has computers in class for students to do research, type, and class projects.
  
    There are many serious issues that are affecting my community. The streets and sidewalks always have litter on them. There are gangs that hang around the city, starting fights, dealing drugs, and carrying guns around in public. I always hear about a shooting or another death or casualty in a car crash on the news. And there hasn’t been much positive change occurring around my neighborhood to stop these issues from continuously happening and making this city look bad.

   I have personally tried to make my community better. I did little things like picking up some garbage off the sidewalk and streets. I have tried to show the beauty of Oakland by planting things in gardens to make it look more colorful and going around taking pictures of things and scenes that I think look great. Then I display the pictures in my local library for everyone to see the awesome things that are in my neighborhood.

   I have seen a lot of violence and oppression during my time of living in Oakland and I have changed a lot by it. Many people have been hurt because of the violence in many different ways, but I plan to become a doctor to cure these people who have been harmed. But I need to learn more and more about the human body and medicine to do that so I need to go to college to learn more about these things and help fix my community.       

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Freedom

Free like a bird,

Roaming the vast blue sky's,

Ever lasting joy,

Equality for everyone,

Dreaming of happiness,

Oppression nowhere to be found,

Menacing fear is vanquished.