Six Word Memoir

"Growing through love in unimaginable ways"

        I came up with this for my six word memoir because of the ways that I have been shaped by my love for other people and things, as well as their love for me. My first 18 years of life have been completely shaped by the love and sacrifices of my family, especially my mom. Without her support I don't know how I could have survived high school and gotten into college. My friends have gotten me through some of the darker times of my life, and I can only hope that I have done the same for them. My boyfriend is not only there for me 24/7, but inspires me to be a better person every single day. The passion of some of the teachers I have been lucky enough to have for both education and students has inspired me to pursue life with joy and compassion for others.Without these people in my life, I would not be the same person and I would not care about the world as much as I do. I only hope that as I leave high school and maybe lose some of these connections that I can continue to make more and continue growing to be more connected with my humanity. 

-Elise P.

Leah's Where I'm From Poem

I am from The Verse,
from Betty Crocker cakes and soybeans.
I am from requited love
   (disastrous and unaccepted).
I am from Independence Day memories,
the protruding bellies
that yearn for the taste
of protein and compassion.

I'm from Lumumba and refuge,
   from languages and curious questions.
I'm from malarial parasites
  and mosquito nets,
  from "freedom" and "I love you".
I'm from white skin
 with African heart
 and politics on the mind.

I'm from the hunt and the primitive,
from metamorphosis and sin.
From delirious fever,
that convoluted innocence,
the name Price, strewn across Georgia and Kilanga.

--Emily T.

50 days left

"The future lies before you
Like a field of driven snow,
Be careful how you tread it,
For every step will show."- Author unknown

We are down to 50. 50 days left until graduation. As the time to say goodbye to our high school experience approaches, we can’t help but feel anxious, nostalgic and excited. The time to leave behind our miniature high school world and take over superior things outside of Rancho Cucamonga is among us. Sure, we will miss our closest friends, all the school dances, and how easy it was to get along with our teachers, but we will also leave some open space for the brand new experiences college will bring us. We will always remember our first day of freshmen year, and the last day of our last year as seniors. We have seen each other grow up to become more mature, pleasant human beings instead of small and kind of annoying freshmen that we were four years ago. I believe we should enjoy the rest of the days we have left and make the most of them because we will not live them again for the rest of our lives.   


-Heidy Garcia

Opening of Invisible Man rewrite- Daniel Hawkins

Well, I try to make fun out of everything that I do, so I decided to do the assignment where we rewrote the opening paragraph of Invisible Man with a little twist... I hope you like it :)

I am the most interesting man in the world. No, I am not a normal person that does ordinary things; nor am I one of your egotistical jerks. I am a man of class, of manners and indulgence, good taste and a sophisticated sense of style - and I might even be said to be "the chosen one". I am interesting, understand, simply because I'm not afraid to endure adventure. Like the bodiless heads you see in the ancient ruins of the Mayans, it is as though I have been surrounded by curious and perplexed tourists. When they approach me they see only my awesomeness, my stunning looks, or the hero of their wildest dreams - indeed, everything and anything except the real, normal me.

Stay thirsty my friends.

Tess Response

I find it very ironic that Tess encounters Alec on a tombstone when she is with her family. Hardy is foreshadowing Tess' outcome through this. Alec subsequently brings on the death of Tess Durbeyfield--literally and figuratively. Her murder results in her execution. Yet, Tess seemingly died earlier in the novel. She was never "whole" and "pure" after he incident with Alec. Tess simply morphed into a ghost of her former self after being taken advantage of. She became listless, distant, and incapable of true happiness. The meeting in the graveyard is Hardy's message of Tess dying via Alec's actions.

Though Hardy establishes Tess as a strong female protagonist, I feel that he also left her tragically flawed and actually weak. She was not able to forgive herself, and she was not able to recover from Angel's departure. It makes me ponder if Tess was really as strong and as independent as she was perceived. Tess almost walked into her grave due to her lack of mental strength and naturally distraught nature.

--Emily T

Tess Response

"She knew how to hit in a hair's-breadth that moment of evening when the light and the darkness are so evenly balanced that the constraint of day and the suspense of night neutralize each other, leaving absolute mental liberty."

This quote is discussing the exile Tess has placed upon herself after her fall from grace. Light and dark are archetypal for good and evil and because she is no longer innocent, but is still a moral person, she prefers to hide from the world in plain sight when the two meet and balance each other out. The light of day makes Tess feel like an outcast because it emphasizes how she no longer encompasses the light, but the darkness is too much for her because she has not fully embraced immorality. In essence, Tess is stuck between the two because society foolishly tells her that she can never go back to the light.

I think the use of darkness and light here adds depth to her character, and I also feel that it makes her more relatable. We all have this mixture of light and dark within us and we have to choose how we balance it. Will we let one side win, or will they be equal, as Tess feels is her situation?

-Elise P.

Tess

Poor Tess. It's so frustrating to see such a young and innocent soul being destroyed by something that wasn't even her fault. Alec has raped her and that led to the conception of her child. First of all, what a horrible way to get pregnant, second of all, that immature and foolish boy didn't even realize that he had literally destroyed this girl. As the book pointed out, it seemed as if Earth was the blighted apple of the tree, and the whole universe made her fate to consist of nothing but sorrow. Now that she meets the love of her life, Angel, she still can't get past her tainted past. Why does she take the blame for her horrible past? Yes, it is hard to look forward after such traumatic experiences, being her rape and the death of her child, but it seems as if though she is taking all the blame for her horrible life story. The only way for her and Angel to have a good and successful relationship is for her to realize that she wasn't responsible for the wrong in her life and that she can't do anything to change her past. All she can do is look forward and make her life the way she wants it to be. That's why this book is so frustrating: because no matter how close she is to attaining happiness, the darkness of her past comes crawling to haunt her. I haven't finished the book yet, but I am eager to find out if her and Angel have a successful relationship and to see if she finally forgets the past. I dearly hope both of these come true.