Final exam

                                           Final Exam 

 ''An American Story''

 Anthony Lewis 

''Hunger of Memory''

 Richard Rodriguez          

                                       In the ''Hunger of Memory'' by Richard Rodriguez the point is that foreigners are not welcomed. So they do not belong there. In ''American Story'' the point is also ''belonging''. These two stories share a point. ''Hunger of Memory'' is the story of Mexican-American Richard Rodriguez, who begins his schooling in Sacramento, California, knowing just 50 words of English, and concludes his university studies in the stately quiet of the reading room of the British Museum. ''An American Story'' is about Thanksgiving weekend 15 years ago when a 10-year-old Vietnamese boy named Viet Dinh arrived in this country as a refugee. He was with his mother, four sisters and a brother.

                                  In the Hunger of Memory the writing style is autobiography. In American Story the writing style is news features. A news feature is journalists presenting a personal slant by including their own views. So between both stories their writing styles are different.

                                 The setting in ''An American Story'' took place in South Vietnam, during the 1950's. The setting in ''Hunger of Memory'' took place Sacramento. Before that they used to live in South Sacramento. (Lines 3-5) '' led them to a house many blocks from the Mexican South side of the town. Both of the settings in each story were different.

                                The conflicts were different in the two stories. In ''Hunger of Memory'' his conflicts were external and pulled him in many different directions. A conflict was that he didn’t have a full time writing job. This effected him because he had shortage of money and then had to look for other temporary job. He had had to make the decision to borrow or take a job from his rich friends or earn money doing the thing he loved, writing. In ''An American Story'' the Vietnam war led them to the United states.

                                The theme in both stories is to gain something, you must lose something. In ''American story'' all of the family members had to leave to go to the U.S but they had to leave their sister behind. The family was reunited after fifteen years. In ''Hunger of Memory'' in order to the thing he loved he had to work hard because he did not have enough money.


                             In ''American Story'' what is gained is first of all they were reunited with their family.  Second is education and success. In (lines 2-3) ''I graduated from the Harvard Law school in June and am now a Law clerk…''. Also in (lines 1-3) '' she was entitled to refugee status. In September 1992, she made it to Portland. Finally the family was reunited.


                           The solutions of both stories were successful. In ''American Story'', the family is employed and have great careers. In ''Hunger of Memory'' he did what he loved to do writing. I think also applies to real life. If you want to be successful, you have to give up something in life.
                               

winter break

                                            Winter Break

                                 My winter break was fun and relaxing but not that much because I woke up early around six-thirty everyday. It sucked, but I had to in order to pass the F.B.I physical test, what I mean is I ran every morning, slowly increasing my pace. I also went to Portland. Portland is just green and I mean all green. There are trees everywhere. I also went to the beach. The best part of my vacation was the beach and Voodoo donut's, which is in Portland. Its a really famous place and the line is about more than six-hundred feet long. Crazy right?

                             This is a place where I feel I am calm. A place that is peaceful in its own ways. It is the place to go to get away from all my troubles. It is the one place where I could sit forever, and never get tired of just staring into the deepest blue I have ever seen. It is the place where I can sit and think the best. A place where nothing matters but what is in that little moment. The one place capable of sending me into a relaxing moment. This place is the ocean.
                  
                             Just as I sit down on the sand my mind starts to unwind. The many spectacular sights jump at my eyes. As far as I can see there is turquoise water in front of me. Surfers wearing their bright colored suits grab their boards and head for the unknown. Light colored sailboats disappear in the distance. Looking farther out, I see dolphins peak out of the water. I cannot help but to think how it would feel to be so free and careless. Their grayish blue color shimmers in the fiery orange sky making me feel happy that I got to see them, even for a split moment. Couples decorated in their beach attire in front of me. I cannot help but to wonder what their rush could be. Children dancing around mounds of sand that within a short amount of time will yield the most impressive sandcastles.

                        Relaxing a bit more, I become more aware of the sounds around me. The seagulls seem to be talking to each other in their own language while they skim the shore for fish to eat. The ocean tide crashes on the shore, making a steady beat that quickly forms a song-like rhythm. The massive waves make a very comforting sound, soft to the ear.

                      Standing up, I can feel the sun rays embrace my skin. Walking farther down the shore my body gets consumed with cold chills as the texture of the grainy, wet sand squishes between my toes. The wind blows softly and blows my hair away from my face. At the same time my nose senses kettle popcorn stand. When I go near it I can hear the popcorn popping.

                    The smell of the ocean is what made this experience one of a kind. The fresh air that drifted in the air gave me the chills that ran up both my arms. The wet sand mixed with the salt in the water making an aroma that would make you have a flashback of your favorite memory. This was my new favorite memory.Eeach grain of sand loomed in my toes which stirred up a fresh smell that put my whole body in relaxation. Smells from the ocean over ruled the rest. There is nothing else like the smell of the sea. The beach contained various sounds. Waves would quietly lean back and then charge forward with a gentle roar. Pelicans flew in patterns around the beach making playful screeches.
                     Now lets talk about Voodoo donut's. The aroma smells beautiful its like if you would want to bite into the aroma. They have over 50 different flavors, each one spectacular in one way. Some of the flavors they have is mango tango, maple bacon, Miami vice berry, and guess what, if your vegan they also have a vegan doughnut. They have something for everybody. They are hand made and come in all shapes and sizes and full of surprises.

Autobiographical Narrative

  I  went  to  carthay  center  elementary.  After  that  I  went  to  Frederick   Douglass.  I  was  in  honors  class  when  I  went  to  that  school.  I  went  there  for  seventh  grade  but  in  eight  grade,  I  went  to  Laurel  Span  school.  So  I  stayed  their  for  eight  grade.  Frederick  was  located  on  Adam's.   Laurel  was  located  on  Hayworth.  Now  I  go  to  Fairfax  High  school  which  is  on  Melrose.

My  reading  is  in  the  middle,  like  average. My  reading  really   improved  by  this  one  teacher  inspiring  me. Her  name   is  Ms.  Cronyn. Before  that  I  did  not  like  reading  at  all. This  made  a  big  difference  in  my  vocabulary. The  more  I  read, the more  I  improve. I  don't  know  but  the  more  I  read,  I  become  a  better  writer. There  are  so  many  benefits  in  reading. One  benefit  is  knowledge,  Everything  you  read  fills  your   head  with  new  bits  of  information,  and  you  never  know  when  it  might  come  in  handy. The  more  knowledge  you  have,  the  better  equipped  you  are  to  tackle  any  challenge  you'll  ever  face.

I  know  that  Im  a  very  good  student. I  usually  don’t  praise  myself. Teachers  are  mostly  proud  from  the  work  I  do. I  help  others. I  follow  the  teacher’s  directions. I  am  quiet  when  the  teacher  is  talking. I  turn  my  work  on  time  unless  Im  absent.

I  participate  in  class  discussions.

 I  do  expect  a  lot  from  you. You  do  seem  very  nice  and  funny.  You  have  a  great  sense  of  humor. I  want  learn  a  lot. I  hope  you  help  me  when  I  need  help. I  hope  I  don’t  have  any  problems  with  you  and  that  my  year  goes  good. I   reflect  on  what  you  bring  to  the  table  as  a  student. I  recognize  that  your  mind  tries  to  solve  problems  it  can't  begin  to  know  the  answer  to. Empty  yourself  of  what  you  think  you  know,  then  let  something  new  come  forth,  fresh  in  the 

moment. I  want  to  learn  something  new  and  useful  for  each  lesson.

I  feel  good  about  how  I  see  myself  academically  in  the  future. I  want  to  major  in  criminal  justice. I  want  to  go  to  Harvard.  I  want  to  go  in  the  law  field. Im  a  L.A.P.D.  cadet  so  that  helps  to  show  me  what  it  would  be  like  to  be  a  police  officer. That  really  gives  me  a  head  start.  It  also  teaches  me  new  laws  that  I  never  knew. 

    

District Assessment

                            

             

                                  Mizuko  and  her  team  interviewed  over  5,000  hours  of  online  observations  as  part  of  the  most  extensive  U.S.  study  of  youth  media  use.  How  do  today's  youth  interact  with  digital  and  online  media.  Most  youth  use  online  networks  to  extend  friendships. Youth  are  almost  always  associating  with  people  they  already  know  in  their  offline  lives. The  majority  of  youth  use  media  to  ''hang  out''.  



                              Myspace  and  Facebook  are  two  social  networking  websites.  They  can  always  be  in  constant  contact  with  their  friends  through  private  communications.  You  call  this  ''friendship  driven''.  A  smaller  amount  of  youth  use  the  online  world  to  explore  interests.  Such as  online  gaming, creative  writing, video  writing, or  other  artistic  endeavors. From  this  they  gain  new  forms  of  visibility  and  reputation.  You  call  this  ''interest  driven''. 



                               From  this  I  have  learned  that  youth  need  both  ''interest driven''  and  ''friendship driven''  because  they  create  and  navigate  new  forms  of  expression  and  rules  for  social  behavior. In  interest  driven  participation,  adults  have  an  important  important  role  to  play  in.  Youth  use  media  by  at  their  peers.  Adults  have  a  tremendous  influence  in  setting  learning  goals.
       
                          
                            Some  youth  also  ''geek  out''.  Mostly  looking  at  a  popular  images, geeking  out  is  highly  social  but  usually  not  driven  primarily  by  local  friendships. New  media  allows  freedom  and  autonomy  for  youth.  Yet  youth  are  more  often  motivated  by  their  peers.



                           While  hanging  out  online,  youth  are  picking  up  basic  social  and  technical  skills.  Participation  in  the  digital  age  means  more  than  being  able  to  access  serious  online  information  and  culture. From  this,  I  think  youth  are  losing  interacting  skills  with  other  people  and  to  themselves.  But  at  the  same  time  develop  technical  skills  which  might  help  them  in  the  future.