Kimberly's English Blog

 Prompt: Judith Ortiz Cofer says, “The Island travels with you.” What part of your culture, family, or identity do you feel “travels” with you everywhere you go? Prompt Response: A part of my identity that "travels" with me wherever I go is the language of my culture. Whenever I go out, I can switch between languages to my necessity. I can translate something to my mother from English to Spanish. I can speak to Spanish speakers in their language and ask questions. But Spanish is especially important to me, as it can allow me to talk to my family members. For example, my grandmother cannot speak English. So, I like that I am able to communicate with her in phone calls about my day, what I'm doing, and ask her questions about what's happening in her life. Summary: In class, we had to read "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Reflection: She made me realize that British and American stories are more widely available worldwide, while Afric...

 Prompt: Which learning method do you enjoy the most? Class discussions, worksheet work, or hands-on activities. Select one and tell why.  Prompt Response: I enjoy class discussions most. I get to see the strong emotions and personal experiences people have gone through that influenced their answer and justify their reasoning. I like to hear from their point of view, as to be educated, you must understand what a minority group has to deal with. Besides, if we continue doing this, it'll make the whole class comfortable talking with each other. I would like to hear them talk more, so I can be more understanding.  Summary: In class, we read "The Myth of the Latin Woman" by Judith Ortiz Cofer and wrote down the stereotypes that affect Latin women like her.  Reflection: In the text, I liked how she talked about how Latin women are subjected to being seen as the "hot tamale." It is something that should be changed in society. You are harming the person you are dating ...

 Prompt: Write about an experience when someone assumed something about you because of a stereotype. What was the situation, and what did you do? Prompt Response: One time someone assumed something about me because of a stereotype was in elementary school. Apparently, the person controlling my schedule believed that I needed ESOL. So I was randomly taken out of my class to practice English. The ESOL teacher was very nice, but I knew that I wasn't supposed to be here. I knew that I was a fluent English speaker. My mother did too, so she made sure that I was taken out, it took a few times. But I remained quiet, as I knew that this wasn't permanent.  Summary: Today in class, we watched a TED Talk about a girl who was held back academically because stereotypes led the school to believe she needed more help than others.  Reflection: It made me sympathize with her, as she said that these stereotypes affected her mentally, for example, just because of her race, people think that...

 Prompt: In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, the mother provides her daughter with numerous expectations about how a girl should behave. Reflect on a specific gender expectation within your culture that has been challenging for you to navigate. Then describe one clear example of this expectation and explain why it has been difficult for you. Keep your response concise, vivid, and focused on your personal experience. Prompt Response: A specific gender expectation in my culture that has been challenging for me to navigate is that when you're a girl, you must always respect your father's wishes. One clear example of this expectation is that after walking Stone Mountain, my father treated the family to IHOP. Everything seemed well, the waitress had given us our meals. But my father allowed my sister to grab a piece from my dish without acknowledging my opinion. It was difficult for me because, despite always giving the basic courtesy to ask for permission for things that they owned, my ...

Prompt: Take a clear picture of your “I, Too” poem and post it to your blog. To upload the picture, click the image icon within the blog post, and it will allow you to upload your photo. Prompt Response: The inspiration for my poem came from my friend. It was near the end of junior year, and I was finished with my homework. But one of my friends was still occupied with work. Despite my insistence that I could lend a hand with their Spanish homework, they dismissed me. There was this embarrassment in myself. I want to be seen as dependable to the people I care about. Especially those who helped me out in the past. So I wrote about how I can reciprocate and be reliable too.  Summary: In class, we read and discussed "Why I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady. Reflection: The process of composing my poem was a struggle. At first, I wanted to humanize myself to the audience. So I picked intelligence, I  addressed that I too can be dense with other topics outside of school. Since I can ...

 Prompt: Write about a time when you did something out of the norm. What was it and how did others react? Prompt Response: A time when I did something out of the norm was when I kept an appointment secret. Of course, to me it was just my routine, to go to the orthodontist, but to them it was as if, on a random weekday, I just vanished. They were surprised by my sudden disappearance and asked where I went. I always gave them a heads-up whenever I left! But for some reason, I was secretive about it. They pestered for a while, until they gave up, because I kept quiet, I couldn't help it, it was too funny.  Summary: In class, we had to answer questions about gender roles and culture. We also discussed whether nature vs nurture affects gender roles in culture.  Reflection: In my opinion, nurture is the reason why gender roles are affected in culture. In my Hispanic household, my father is more present at work, while my mom has to maintain the household alone. 

 Prompt: Describe a time when you felt completely lost. Prompt Response: When I was in junior year, I took AP Lang. It seemed exciting at first, but it was a very difficult class, all because of the teaching. Even worse, the teacher admitted herself that she was quite the rambler. So, whenever she spoke, it sounded gibberish to me. I had to keep enduring, despite feeling behind in the class. In the end, by staying after school and asking questions, I was graced with a common B.  Summary: Today in class, we learned about gender roles in our culture.  Reflection: In my culture, women do the cooking and cleaning, meanwhile men go to work. 

Prompt: Analyze how you’ve adapted to the demands of this course over the past week, and evaluate one strength and one challenge you anticipate as we progress, justifying your insights with personal examples. Prompt Response: I have adapted to the demands of this course over the past week. As I make sure to bring my supplies and pay attention in class. As for my strength, I like to get involved, since I have been immersed in the lessons, I ask a lot of questions. I hope to understand the world around me, because I like community in my life. I enjoy the company of anyone. As for a challenge, I struggle with answering. For example, when we watched a video about Rachel Dolezal, there were 2 sides, people who supported her into the community, and people who were against here in their community. It is confusing for me, because since I am not a part of the black community, clearly I have no say. I support the black community, but which one is it? To share culture because there are those ...

 Prompt: If someone tried to understand you using only your race, what important things would that person miss? Describe at least three other parts of your cultural identity that help make you who you are. Prompt Response: If someone tried to understand me by only using your race, there would be 3 things that they would miss. For starters, just by looking at my profile, they'd believe that I immigrated from Mexico, despite being born in America. To add, my skin could infer people to believe that I could speak English with an accent. Even though my surroundings and the schooling system helped me write and speak English properly. Lastly, being Mexican can make people infer that I would be religious, as it is true that the majority of Hispanic people are religious, except me.  Summary: Today in class, we watched videos about exploring various viewpoints of cultural identity.  Reflection: I learned that people of color were forced to normalize categories. As in the past,...

 Prompt: Think about the different people, cultures, experiences, communities, interests, and traditions that have shaped who you are. What parts of your identity have had the greatest influence on the person you are today? Have you ever felt pressure to change, hide, or emphasize a part of yourself in order to fit in? Prompt Response: Being Hispanic and female have had the greatest influence on the person I am today. It always reminded me that I must be calm. If I get too emotional, as a girl, people won't respect me. To add, if I am too angry when I'm emotional, people will see me as the aggressive Hispanic stereotype. The only positive thing I can consider is that my culture has influenced me to hold deep respect for my family and to always respect your elders.  Summary: Today, in class we read and discussed the poem, "A Korean Dream" by Sharon Lee. Reflection: "A Korean Dream" made me think about how just because you were born in America, you will never ...

Prompt: Describe a meaningful family tradition unique to your culture and explain how it mirrors or contrasts with the cultural identity themes of expectations. Prompt Response: A meaningful family tradition unique to my culture is that every year my mother will buy a Rosca de Reyes. Rosca de Reyes are a dessert with a little baby Jesus inside. It contrasts with the cultural identity themes of expectations towards my family. As despite the majority of Hispanic families being religious, and Rosca de Reyes relating to religion, my mother has accustomed our Hispanic, non-religious family to simply eat it out of enjoyment. Even though she lived in a religious household. Summary: Today, in class we read and discussed cultural identity. Reflection:  It made me learn that members in their culture have patterns in common but never think or act identically.

To pursue my future career in entomology, I will achieve 3 academic goals. My first goal is to balance my assignments in my schedule. So I can be prepared to be responsible in college. My second goal is to get a decent SAT score to be accepted into college. My third goal is to have A's in all my classes, to be seen as impressive by the future colleges I will apply to.