Leyva: Homesick

          I remember going home everyday after school and wishing that the day I left for college would arrive sooner. I wanted to live my life without my parents telling what to do and leave the busy city of Los Angeles. I was tired of having to ask for my parents' permission for everything. But mostly importantly, I no longer wanted to live in Los Angeles. I was tired of  living in a city where it is always crowded,  where you do not know your neighbors, and where there is always so much noise. I thought leaving was what I really wanted to do but once the day actually came, I realized it was completely different then what I imagined. I was so busy thinking of the things I hated that I did not realize the people and places I was going to miss. 

         Now that I have left for college and am in a completely different city, I have discovered how much I love my family and the city I was born in. When I first arrived to New Orleans, I immediately noticed that there was hardly any traffic, there was practically no one on the streets, and it was really quiet. Life in New Orleans was the opposite of life in Los Angeles. I was excited that I was in college in New Orleans but as the days passed by I started missing little things from back home like walking to the store and fighting with my sisters. I miss living in Los Angeles but I miss being with my family so much more. I was so happy about not having my family bugging me all the time that I did not think about how much I was going to miss them. Before I was counting the days until I left for college, now I am counting the days until I go back home and see my family. 

Kenner: No Pork for Me

When I was a kid, I loved pork. I would almost cheer for joy whenever my mom would make me bacon for breakfast and I would happily devour any ham sandwiches for lunch. I saw pork as something everyone ate. I never felt guilty or uneasy inside when I saw pork on my plate. When I was thirteen, I saw a documentary that showed how pigs were slaughtered. They were killed; hooked to an assembly line to be maliciously chopped up and sent out to stores for consumption. The killing of the pigs effected me more than any other animal in the documentary. I felt sorry for the pigs so much that when I looked back at all the times I have eaten pork, I felt sick. It was then I decided to never eat pork again.

Whenever I go grocery shopping now, I am always careful about what meat I buy. I always check the ingredients carefully to make sure there is not even an ounce of pork. I do not care if I was starving, I would still never eat pork. My family and friends have also been affected by my choice to give up pork. Thy cannot just cook or buy any kind of meat now. For example, my grandmother now only buys turkey and roast beef since I have moved in with her. If my friends and I go out to eat, we all make sure it is something we all like and can eat. I have not eaten pork for over five years now. I do not regret my decision because I feel better about what I consume now.

Falu's: The Bored Princess

The Underworld is hidden in the depths of Earth. It is the kingdom of the dead, ruled over by Hades. Hades, a greedy god who is greatly concerned by the increase of his subjects, possesses a weakness, his daughter Letha.

His love for his only child is greater than the love he has for Persephone, his wife. Because of this great love, Persephone became jealous leaving Hades, the Underworld, and denying the existence of the child as her own.

After betrayal, Letha, now 17 years old, has grown into a fine future heiress and ruler of the Underworld. Life in the Underworld is not particularly unpleasant to Letha. It is rather like a miserable dream, full of shadows, without sunlight or hope; a joyless place, where the dead slowly fade into nothingness. Letha is used to this kind of life.

When The Erinnyes visited the Underworld, they said that Letha could stare for hours at the River of Lamentation. She was able to see the tiniest and most miserable souls in the depths of the river. The Erinyes said that if the gods had a staring contest in all the realms, she could win.

     One day Letha, with her dull face, woke up and wondered how interesting it would be to stare at living things. She decided to take a trip to Earth. She managed to escape her overly protecting father. She also deceived Cerberus to let her out of the gates of the Underworld. She rode the ferry across the Acheron, the fare was free to the King’s daughter.

     Once on Earth, she walked for many hours in the forests and fields. She stared at the sky, the sun, the trees, and the ground.  She noticed a living thing, a shepherd boy. She had a strange feeling in her chest, but that did not stop her from staring at the shepherd boy. She stared and stared, “Beautiful creatures, humans are!” she exclaimed. Finally, Letha gave her big green eyes a rest. She turned around and returned to the Underworld, to tell her father about the wonderful adventure she had on Earth.

Hixon- Church

As a child growing, going to church every Sunday was mandatory for my family according to my mom. My sisters and I would hate waking up early, getting dressed in our Sunday's best, and sitting for hours. We would always dose off during the service and my mom would nudge us giving that "your in trouble" glare. It was not until I got into high school that my mom did not make church mandatory, it was our choice whether we decided to go or not. So of course I loved sleeping in which resulted in me rarely going to church. However, I realized that every time I miss church for a long period of time, the next time I went I felt as if the sermon being preached was directed specifically toward me. This would baffle me. Now I go to church on a consistent basis, but every now and then I miss a Sunday or two and know the message next Sunday will speak to me specifically. Through this I've learned that Jesus has a weird was of communicating with me.

Norton: Veteran's Day

November 11, 2013 was a very good day to be me. This veteran’s day, I was lucky enough to perform at the Daughter’s of World War II Veteran’s Day luncheon and listen to the few hundred people left who knew and experienced WWII personally. I was awarded this opportunity when my mother contacted Laura Leppert, the former first lady of Dallas and president of the Daughter's of WWII, and shared with her one of my original songs, If Only Hearts Could Talk. The song is about The Samuels, a couple I met working at a local burger joint in Dallas. They met when he was fatally wounded and had to be hospitalized. She was his nurse, and in the 2 weeks she took care of him, they fell in love. He would always crack this joke, "I through up on her, and it turned her on." Taken aback by the song, Mrs. Leppert asked me if I would consider using my music to help the Daughter's of WWII project Wings of Freedom. The Wings of Freedom project is unique because it allows WWII Veterans to go back to their battlefields to obtain closure and say their last goodbye. I was more than willing to help the cause by donating all the proceeds of my song to the Wings of Freedom project and performing at the Veteran's Day Luncheon. 

The Veteran’s Day Luncheon was unlike any event I’ve ever performed at. Of the 600 guests, there were 200 WWII Veterans from all around America. Stories, songs, and poems about WWII were shared along with prayers and much more. I was allowed to bring eight guests for free, but the most important of them were The Samuels. Not only are they the inspiration behind If Only Hearts Could Talk, but they also starred in my music video for the song. After I performed the song for the many guests, The Samuels came up on stage to take a bow and receive the roses I gave to them. As everyone stood and clapped for their service and wonderful love story, I felt so grateful that I could share that moment with them.

After the luncheon was over, I was swarmed with people from the greatest generation giving me thanks and admiration for writing the song. I felt flabbergasted because I wrote the song out of pure appreciation to the veterans, not the other way around.  The kind words they gave me were so moving that I have been thinking about each and every conversation I had with these people for days. One kind grandfather even asked me for my autograph to give to his grand-daughter. 

FALU's: The Windows to my World

    It is very strange how your life can be changed by a pair of glasses. I realized this when I had forgotten my glasses at home before going to work. Within a mere minute of the time, my perspective on the world was altered. And I do mean that literally. I always wear my glasses for classes, work, and for movie nights.

    The day I forgot my pair, I managed without them and forgot them altogether. The weekend was a mildly fuzzy one, to say at least. How incredibly blind I was to the reality I was missing out on. I realized that upon my return from work, and I started looking for them without any luck.

After two days thorough search, very late at night, I found my glasses at the

bottom of my backpack. A feeling of joy filled me at that very moment. As soon as I found them, I slipped them onto my face, it was as the world had been opened for me. Everything seemed brighter, and more beautiful, like a HD movie. I could now recognize friendly faces in the distance; I could read texts that had been before, to me, just a fuzzy line.

     Now, I began to observe the world more closely. I can see ants on the sidewalk when I go to take the bus to go to college. How splendid  hard workers ants are!. I realized this is how everyone without optical aids always saw the world. However, I noticed that there is an advantage to wearing glasses, that a person with normal vision does not have. At any time, I can remove my glasses and remind myself why I have them in the first place. If at any occasion I doubt the beauty of the world, I can simply put on my glasses to appreciate it.

     During that weekend, the mornings where dull. Every distant shape was soft edged, and every distant customer and friend unrecognizable. Now, I wake up, the dull vision is still in my natural eyes, but with a simple move I cast my vision through two optical windows and the world instantly brightens. Details become clear. Some might claim that the microorganisms are in the details, but I would argue for the opposite. If you happen to see me walking around campus with a little jig in my walk, it might be because, for a moment, I forgot to put my glasses on, and suddenly remembered how beautiful life is.

Kenner: Nine Hours of Sleep

As a child, I grew up believing that I would not be able to function the next day if I did not get at least nine hours of sleep. It started after I saw the Garfield commercial that told kids that people needed to sleep for nine hours every night. I took the narrator’s words to heart and woke up every morning counting all the hours I have been sleep. My auntie also was involved in this. She would tell me every night to be in bed by 8:30 which later progressed to 9:30 as I kept getting older. I knew she would be mad at me if I stayed up any later so I always made sure I was in bed on time.

Once I got into high school, I could not always go to sleep at 9:30. Being in high school meant that I had more homework to do and now I had to actually studying for a test. My auntie would still tell me that I should go to sleep early, but she did not bother me after realizing all the work I had to do for school. Being in high school also meant hanging out with my friends outside of school. I wanted to go to the movies, go to parties, or go shopping with my friends but I could not do that by 9 ‘clock. My auntie allowed me to go out, but I still felt weird being out past 10 ‘clock.

Now I am in college and there is no way for me to sleep nine straight hours every night. I find myself up all night studying for test. I have many homework assignments that take me over a couple of hours just to complete. There are even students that have to work two jobs in addition to the studying and homework. Scientists say people need at least nine hours of sleep every night, but that is almost impossible as you get older.

The Shawn Report

Colbert, Stewart, and Moore: Who is The Most Effective?

When it comes to these three political satirists, it is hard to compare because all three have unique styles. Colbert has his mock ,right-wing news show "The Colbert Report" where he blends political and wacky humor. His mentor ,John Stewart, has ‘The Daily Show" where he blends actual news, political humor, and mocking Fox News every chance he gets. Michael Moore is the more politically direct of the three. While he is not a comedian, his body of work including movies and a talk show are no less notable of the three. So when comparing to see who is the most effective political satirist, I am compare by seeing who is funny, engaging and insightful.

Stephen Colbert is the most effective of the three. The character he plays is perfect for the political climate we live in. It allows him to be funny as possible while still mocking inane politicians, talk show hosts, and pop culture. Colbert character allows him to mock The Bill O'Reilly’s of the world while still relating something to Miley Cyrus. Colbert can talk about any subject on his show and still reference political humor, as his character of a right wing political commentator, allows him to express views in a humorous way. For political humor to be accessible to the political novice, who does not know all the ins and outs of politics, being able to make jokes that relates to both, is something Colbert does all the time and does it superbly. What also makes Colbert so effective is that you can see he loves what he does. He’s having fun and that makes you enjoy watching him. He does not take himself seriously at all, so the material that can sometimes be weighty, with topics such as a plane crash can be the most hilarious of material in Colbert’s hands. Colbert is in his prime and clearly the best in late night TV and political satire.

I think Michael Moore is easily the most politically focused of three. He is less "jokes" and more showing why something is stupid. I think that the character that he sometimes invokes in his movies as a seemingly uneducated oaf who goes to great lengths to get answers is genius. When he interviews people who are doing wrong things to people, he gives up the act and makes these people he’s mocking look like utter fools. It’s a great political satire style. It’s funny, engaging, and thought provoking. The only issue with Moore, is that he himself is not truly funny. He is not being goofy or wacky with his material. That is what sets him and Colbert apart for me in terms of who is the most effective. I feel a great political satirist’s should not be so reliant on just politics but relate politics with American society’s views on pop culture. Moore does not do that in a way that Colbert and Stewart does. But Michael Moore has a different goal than just being funny. His goal is not to make you laugh; it is to entertain you but to also educate you about what is going on in the world. His various movies like "Sicko" and "Capitalism: A Love Story" are tales of bad people in politics doing bad things and Moore shining a light and getting us to care. So while Moore is not "funny", the reaction he gets, from despicable people when their acts come to light, is.

John Stewart is the least effective. When I watch any of these three men work, Stewart is the only one that is background noise. He just does not perform at a great level anymore. Stewart is not bad; he just is not great anymore. He is just average and that’s the problem. His time has passed, and maybe he knows it. From 2000-2008, Stewart was the best in late night TV. Every night felt interesting, and every night he brought it. His humor was always excellent because of his timing of jokes and his chemistry with guests. Stewart’s style of show of showing just how real news is disgustingly biased, dull, and vapid was original, especially when he went after Fox News. But now, it just feels like he is going through the motions. This summer, it certainly felt like that when John Oliver took over for Stewart; As Stewart went to go shoot a movie. A movie he wrote and directed. This move shows that "The Daily Show" is not Stewart’s number one priority anymore. With the same writers, Oliver felt like a breath of fresh air. He felt energized. He felt like he actually liked his job. Because of this, Stewart has to be the worst. His style and show is ripe with potential for great political humor. The writing is still good and material still has zip, but the man saying the jokes has lost his.

While all three may have some faults, they all have done great work in the past. While Stewart is past his prime, there is still hope that he can get motivated to do the great work he is capable of. Michael Moore has not made a movie in four years but when he does, it’ll sure to be direct and engaging. Making big corporations, politicians, and anybody else who is doing wrong to the American dream, Michael Moore is sure to get on their bad side. Colbert is doing great work, and as long as he does not end up like his mentor and get bored, he should make quality satire for as long as the right wing gives him material.

Morales: A Lifelong Friendship

Ashley Morales

Dr. Rowe

Expository Writing

November 14, 2013

            About two summers ago, I went to Washington D.C to work with the Missionaries of Charity. The Missionaries of Charity is a convent whose founder was Blessed Mother Teresa. Living in the basement of a nursing home that the nuns own, was for about 2 months. The home was for both men and women who either came out of jail or needed a place to stay, as well as elders who couldn’t be taken care of by there family members, or for some who had different types of diseases.  It was a life changing experience. I worked with the nuns, and helped them with taking care of the women. Most were bed ridden, so I would bathe, change, and feed these women.

I met a woman, Lizzie, who had a disease, HIV/AIDS. She was from Trinidad, and did not speak much English, but if you put on a Michael Jackson song she’d sing it as if she was fluent. Not knowing much of AIDs the nuns told me to always wear gloves, and not stay to close to her. I was slightly upset because I thought they were somewhat depriving her. The nuns saw the sorrow on my face whenever they would give me a pair of gloves when helping Lizzie, so they took me aside and explained to me that it is for my own health. The nuns told me that HIV travels throughout the human body, and is prone to Tuberculosis; which one of the other ladies had. The healthier a person is under the impression that the virus can be spread by the touch of the skin Now understanding that it was not to push Lizzie away, it was for my own benefit and for the other workers around me. The nuns always told me to think about what I have and how I am blessed with a healthy immune system, a cold will not kill me but it will kill them.

To Conclude, I have encountered the suffering and struggle of a young woman, in her thirties, a good friendship that I would never forget. Whether feeding her or just singing “You Rock My World” it’s a relationship I would always remember.

Don't Be Lazy: Catch The Bus Service Learners!

     Attention prospective service learners: Free bikes are not free! It won’t hurt if you just catch the public streetcars or buses to your service agency if it is miles away—because you get free tokens ranging from ten to twenty tokens once every week and if you lose them, or if they’re stolen, you won’t be penalized with a fine. That is not the case if you rent a bike from the Office of Service Learning. There are several modes of transportation for you to choose from if your assigned or chosen service agency is not walking distance: the public bus, streetcar, and bike rental. The bike rental is a good choice for those of you who abhor sharing space with total strangers or simply not a peoples person, enjoy the freedom of routing wherever you want to reach your destination, or are immediately intrigued with items stamped “free”. The Office of Service Learning lets you reserve any of its five bikes for any day and time which you plan to visit your service agency free of charge; you don’t have to worry about putting any air in the tires also. A helmet and key and lock are also trusted with your care, which means you’d be kept safe at free of charge, and the office’s bike would be kept safe at free of charge.

     But…what happens if you don’t keep the bike safe—oh, you’re charged! I almost forgot to mention that the Office of Service Learning holds you responsible for any damages inflicted onto the bike, at a cost. You’re charged if you don’t lock the bike properly and it so happens to be stolen. You’re charged if the bike handle’s cover is gone. You’re charged if you don’t return the bike in a given amount time (hours or day) in which it is reserved for another service learner. And $300 is the awarded fine if any of the above mentioned offenses are committed. Is it really worth replacing a bike for $300 as opposed to being given twenty free tokens for the bus and streetcar every week?
Catch the bus service learners.

Anjeska Colon: Radical change in Lifestyle

Anjeska Colon

Dr. Rowe

Expo-Writing T122

November 15, 2013

                                                Radical change in Lifestyle

            I was raised in a family where I would get anything I asked for. I always wondered what it would feel like to get out of routine and experience new things and expand my knowledge in other ways like traveling. Searching for things in life that will make me appreciate what I have and understand the beauty of life. Society is based on working hard to get a job and to get as much money as you can where the true beauty is found around us and not many notice it. I want to make a radical change in my lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which I may previously never have thought of doing, or been too unsure to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation. In reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a person than a secure future. The most important thing in a living spirit is the passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from what we learn with the new experiences, and there is “no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your monotonous security and adopt a new style of life that maybe will appear to be crazy, but once you become established to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty even if you have nothing. When I grow older, hopefully I would have the chance to experience something like this. Something I will remember for the rest of my life and will bring meaning to it. I also hope I can share a story or an experience with others because happiness is only real when shared.