Genres

Over the last couple of weeks I have learn a lot about all sorts of different genres.  My favorite one is scrap booking, I really enjoy taking memories and making it into something that may last forever. I also really enjoyed graffiti, post cards, and many many more. I found it interesting how different people from class did their genres in their own way, it was kind of like their signature. My genre was graffiti and I really enjoyed doing my project, I learned a lot about the genre and had fun while doing it. I wish all English projects were like this. I am really enjoying my last English project as well.  I like doing the different genres and having my own theme for it as well.

Art

As I worked on assignment number three, it made me realize how much I love art.  I got the chance to paint a graffiti picture and it came from my heart.  I never knew that I enjoyed art, I love when you figure out something new that you love to do. I feel like school pushes me to do things that I do not want to do, but in the end I end up either learning something new about myself or finding something that I love to do. I am so thankful that I got the chance to do that project.  It made me grow as a person and will continue to make me grow through my art.

Graffiti

In class I had to do an assignment on Graffiti. Graffiti is truely a piece of art. I studied Graffiti and learned that the art comes from the heart and soul. I got the chance to do my own piece of work and it ment a lot to me, it has to do with the things that matter to me in life. Graffiti is an amazing thing to know how to do. What I like the most is that the art has different meaning to different people. The artist has a meaning of their own and all of the observers get their own meaning from the art.

My Weekend

Over the weekend I got to go home and see my family.  It has been about a month since I got to go home.  It was really nice to see everyone and spend some time with them.  My neices are getting so big this was the first year I didn't spend Halloween with my family.  It was really weird being away from home during on of the holidays.  Christmas is coming soon and I am very excited to be able to go home for more than two days.  My dog Blue was so happy to see me this time, it makes me sad having to be away from him for such a long period of time at once.  But college is worth it and it will fly by and soon I will miss being here as well.

Rocky Horror Show

Tomorrow I get to go to the Rocky Horror Show Play with my best friend Alisa. I am so excited to go to the play because I heard it was amazing. Alisa and I are going to dress up as one of the characters for extra credit. I am glad that I decided to go with Alisa we have so much fun together and get so silly. It is nice to have a friend like that so you can just let loose and that person will just be silly with you instead of thinking your crazy. Alisa and I also decided that we were going to dress up as one of the characters from the Rocky Horror Show for Halloween. I can't it is going to be a blast.

The Weekend

Next weekend I get to go home and see everybody. I am so excited I feel like I never get to see my family anymore. Being away at college has changed me as a person. It has changed me in many good ways. It brought myself out of my shell. I used to always be afraid of what people thought of me; and college has changed my mind I just dont care at all died I was not a bubbly person anymore and I finally got that back and I never want to lose it again. I cant wait to see what the next three and a half years will bring me.

Right behind You

One of my favorite books is Right behind You by Gail Giles. It is a wonderful story about a young boy named Kip that douses another boy with gas and lights him on fire out of jealousy. Kip was sent to a mental hospital for killing the little boy. After Kip was reabilitated he was released and given a new home and identity. The theme of this story is forgiveness and redemption. On Wade's journey to forgiveness and redemption he realizes that he must forgive himself first in order to find himself and gain redemption. Redemption does not come easily.

My Weekend Home

Over the weekend I got to go home for the first time in two weeks. It was really nice to see everyone, I feel like its been so long sinse the last time I saw them. Friday I got to go to my boyfriend's grandma's house and spend time with him and his family. On Saturday I went to my friend Ashlehe's baby shower. I cannot believe that she is already so close to her due date. Its crazy how fast some people grow up. But the baby shower was a lot of fun I got to spend time with a bunch of people that I have not seen in some time. After the baby shower I went back to Matthew's grandma's house just to hang out. On Sunday I went to church with my sister and my neices. They seem to grow so fast too, everytime I see them I swear they are a couple inches bigger. I feel like im missing out on so much being away at college. But it will all be worth it in the end. Well that was it for my weekend, I can't wait for the next two weeks to be over with so I can come back.

Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin

The story Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin was very interesting to me.  This short story is very relatable, Sonny reminds me of a lot of people I know.  What I like most about this short story is it reminds me of where I am from.  Although it is not a very friendly envirornment it is still home and I love it.  Also Sonny's brother reminds me of my sister Telese, always looking out for his siblings. I feel like this story talks a lot about family and drugs. I know a couple people that are on drugs and I think it is a terible thing that they do to you. I think that people go to extreme levels to get the drugs they want. For me I think it is wrong to take it to the next level just to get high. From my experience with people on drugs it seems like the drug has all control over you and that craving never goes away. Even if you have been off drugs for years without touching them you will always crave it. That is why I feel that drugs are extremely bad and Sonny's brother was right about everything.

Tommy Ross

Tommy Ross played as one of the characters in the movie Carrie. His role was one of the popular kids that used to always pick on Carrie, along with everyone else. Tommy ended up getting talked into taking Carrie to the prom. Well Tommy ended up liking Carrie and he just wanted to show her a good time. Tommy Ross was a sweet guy that just wanted to show Carrie she can fit in. But after Tommy asked Carrie to the prom some of the other students planned to humiliate Carrie in front of everyone. Tommy played a role in the plot because he took Carrie to the prom and it ended up playing out with Billy and his girlfriend's plan to embarrass Carrie.

My Weekend Home

This weekend I got to travel home for the weekend. I had to take the train, and it took me about four hours to get home. Friday I spent with my boyfriend Matt. Then on Saturday I got to go to my sisters house, we played skip-bo and yahtzee. These are my favorite games to play with my family. I remember playing when i was younger all the time. Today I started my day off with going to church. Church was good and then I went to my sister Telese's house for my neices birthday. My neice Leann turned eight this year. It seems like these years just fly right by.

Engkent's Mother's English

Engkent's mother does not want to learn English because she does not find it necessary.  I think it is extremely necessary for her to learn English because Engkent probably is not always going to live with her.  Without Engkent around she would not always have someone there to translate for her.  This is why it is necessary for her to learn English.  The benefits of learning English are to be able to understand everyone around you and she would not have to depend on anyone to translate for her anymore.  The limitations for Engkent's mother learning English are she would not use her Chinese language as much anymore.  Also she might have a hard time learning English due to the fact that she does not think it is necessary, so she is not going to try as hard.

Literacy

Literacy can be decribed as how much someone knows about a certain thing. Being literate or illiterate all depends on where you are from and how you were raised. Gender, class, and race also play a big part in being literate or illiterate. Such as i would be decribed as being literate in school, but illiterate with street smarts. Literacy is important to me and i tend to try and become more literate with everything around me. Becoming more literate makes me feel like a smarter person in general. But being illiterate about something does not make you dumb. It just expains a little about where you came from and how you grew up, because that plays a big role in how literate a person is.

Understanding Language

In the book Mercury Reader Richardson explained many different meanings of language and what they meant to her. I really liked how she broke things down to explain her feelings so well. Some of her personal experiences relate to me a lot. Such as I went to a high school where the majority of the students were African American and i was treated the was Romelda was. A lot of the other students tried to say i thought i was better than them, but that's not the type of person I am. My mother always told me that everyone was equal and to treat people the way I wanted to be treated. So i do not look at different races, class, or gender as less than me. Also with Richardson's experience with sexism, when someone yells a comment of "Hey baby" I feel disgusted. I think it is a way of someone trying to get into your pants, or just a pervert trying to have sex with me. Richardson has a very unique way of looking at things and I think it makes her more aware of her surroundings and more intelligent.

Where im From

I am from late night mac & cheese meals.
I am from running around bare foot.
I am from the long sunny days on the beach.
I am from the long dirt roads within the woods.
I am from the smell of Li lacks in the morning.
I am from fried potatoes for breakfast.
I am from big Thanks Giving dinners.
I am from cuddling with my dog Blue.
I am from sitting around the bomb fire on dark nights.
From the small block of gossipers.
I am from shopping at Twelve Oaks.
I am from a family of supporters.
I am from eating rocky road ice cream.

Introduction

My name is Tiffany and i am a freshman at western michigan university.  Im 18 years old and have three sisters and one dog.  I am from Warren but currently live on campus in Kalamazoo.  I love to go to the beach and hang out with my friends and family.