Recap on First Semester

Being in 4th period English Literature really changed my perspective on English as a whole. I really have to thank Mrs. Elliott for being such a wonderful teacher and utterly changing all of the previous stereotypes I held about English teachers. Before, I thought that all English teachers were odd, a little crazy, kind of stuck-up, bad-tempered, strict, and waaay obsessed with literature. Although Mrs. Elliott definitely is addicted to English, the way she teaches her classes is completely different from what I have had to go through these past three years of high school. Freshman and sophomore year, I disliked my English teachers, and consequently disliked my English classes. Both my teachers would snap easily and yell at us, the students, from time to time because of our rowdiness. Junior year was not that much of a problem because my English teacher left on some sort of extended vacation or something along those lines from late November to the end of the school year. However, Mrs. Elliott has been, compared to all the other English teachers I have had, something like an idol among teachers. Our class does some crazy stuff in her class, but I don't think I have ever seen her get the least bit perturbed, which is surprising, to say the least. So I just wanted to say thank you to Mrs. Elliott for making me see that English is actually pretty interesting as a subject, and that literature can be really intriguing and not as boring as most people make them out to be.
Of course, it is not just Mrs. Elliott that makes up the 4th period English Literature experience. The other students in the class are interesting as well. There is never a dull moment, whether in our tables or in our teams. My table is filled with laughter and jokes, but we still get our work done. At least, I do. Our team is also surprisingly hard-working and diligent, since it seems that we spend almost all of our class time cracking jokes and laughing. I really am proud of my team for working so hard. Although we may not have the most paw prints on the board, I think we have learned a lot about each other and ourselves, and that our newfound knowledge has made us better people.
In short, this year's English class has been, by far, the most interesting, the most fun, and the most educational English class I have been in throughout all of my high school years. I have learned a lot about English literature that has changed my erroneous perspective on it. The students and Mrs. Elliott have both been amazing in making this class memorable. I will truly be looking forward to coming back to this welcoming class next semester.

The Journey of Life

The human mind creates superficial barriers within itself that limit what people consider can be done or answered.  Society tells us that certain objectives cannot be achieved.  These thoughts of impossibility are engrained into our subconscious from an early age.  We become so used to the idea that these thoughts are impossible to fully comprehend that, we, in a sense forget that they exist and carry on.  The constant weight of the rock weighing down our hands becomes commonplace and slips from attention until the given question becomes intuitively unanswerable.  Just as the rock becomes smooth over time, our thoughts are constantly being eroded by the sands of our mind, losing all edge and interest.  Over time, the quandary becomes nearly unapproachable to our mind as each crevice we initially saw as a point of entry that would allow us to break up the question, has been leveled out by erosion, eliminating any way to maneuver about the solution. 

The summer after my sophomore year, I decided to hike to the top of Mount Baldy with a friend, Alireza, and his cousin, Matin (an experienced hiker).  When we reached the halfway point, Alireza and I were exhausted and sure that we could not make it any further.  We sat down and contemplated whether we were capable of investing another three hours of effort to reach the top.  We promptly told his cousin that we could not go any further.  I saw a river of sorts in my mind, one that appeared too deep and wide to cross without a bridge.  Matin told us but one thing; “the human mind will always create false barriers that tell you that you cannot accomplish certain goals.  But if you stop listening and push through these barriers, you’ll see that such barriers do not actually exist”.  Alireza and I took this advice and decided that although we were sore and our minds were telling us to call it quits, we would accomplish our goal of reaching the top of Mount Baldy and continue on.  On our way up the mountain several times we stopped and thought, ”This seems like the top of the mountain. We can stop here.”  Instead we pushed forward.  Still exhausted, we chose to continue until finally reaching the summit.  When I stood on the top I realized that the river in my mind that looked too perilous to cross, was in fact an inch deep and could be crossed.  The first and most difficult step in accomplishing a goal that appears impossible is having the faith to continue when it seems pointless to try. 

Though I may never attempt to climb Mount Everest, I learned something that day.  It is said that “objects in mirrors are closer than they appear.” Although this statement is true for automobiles, life is exactly the opposite.  If you push yourself to your limits and reassess the situation, you’ll realize that your personal limits are in fact still several miles away. 
-Phillip Jones 4 L1f3

Imagination

J White 

It’s just a blank piece of paper- a sheet of plant fibers, vacant and void, yearning to be overflowed with attention and use. Yet a seemingly bare sheet transforms into an exquisite canvas of city lights and meadow landscapes, a famous script for a dramatic screenplay, an origami creature worthy of applause. A mere blanket converts to a cape of a valiant hero, the roof of a secure fortress, or a companion to snuggle while watching horror movies through one’s quivering fingers. Even this meager English essay becomes a gallant adventure, twisting and coiling throughout unrelated topics until an argument is reached.  This very action is imagination. This process of creating mental images and ideas is essentially humanistic as it provides an imperative vehicle to creativity, intelligence, visualization, and outright entertainment. Imagination provides us laughter, opinion, insight, invention- without it the world would be monotonous, poignant, black and white boredom. Imagination is essential to the universe, and thus is the most important word.

Envision a dreary world absent of imagination: no laughter from clever jokes, no art museums or comic books, no bicycles or airplanes, no iPods or cell phones. You simply cannot, plainly because in doing so you were using your imagination. Imagination is the application of expression, the method of fantasizing, creating, and employing. Without it, man would not have thought to create fire, invent the wheel, or throw some seeds into dirt and call it food as it sprang from the ground. Imagination establishes a hidden world inside one’s mind, a mental concept that travels beyond human senses. It is a universe of infinite opportunity, nonexistent of impossibilities, and capable of unfeasible prospects. Without imagination one would not attempt to explore the galaxies of our universe, one would not try to construct lyrics to a harmonious melody, one would not seek to shroud themselves as a character in a play. Imagination is critical to human nature, manifesting in many forms, strengthening the power of innovation and originality. It is a transcendental formation that combines our experiences and knowledge into a single connected whole; imagination is a universal consciousness capable of the impracticable.

Imagination is the reason for invention, yet no piece of machinery or new technology is capable of employing its own innovative imagination. This is because it is fundamentally humanistic, vital to the persistence of mankind into the pioneering future. This conscious power of mind permits the veracity of youth, the success of adult creativity, the sanity of old age. Imagination is simply the most important word, the most important action. Without it, the blank piece of paper will crumble from desolation.

After enduring twelve years of grueling, compulsory education, we (the students) are at a crossroads: As we seek to delay our adult life and escape the clutches of our parents, we frantically begin the search for the higher education institutions that will host us for the next four years (or more for some of us). We can taste the freedom from the constant nagging of our parents, yet, we cannot imagine Friday afternoons without mom’s delicious carne asada.

As the college application deadline approaches, we grow increasingly anxious (for some, even, their hair begins falling off or it turns white), as uncertainty overwhelms us. I am going to get in? If so, will it be to my dream college or one of my back-ups? Oh God, please, let me get in!

As an individual that has lost numerous hours of sleep thinking about how desperately I want to go to a particular institution, I fail to look at the positive. “I am not going to get in,” I think to myself as I lay down looking into the blank ceiling at 2 a.m. in the morning, “I am going to have to go to a college that I do not want to go to.”

However, recently I been thinking of how lucky we (as people who live in the United States and the Western World in general) are: There are thousands, if not millions, of qualified students in Asia, Africa, and Latin America that would yearn to get a college education wherever possible; however, they might not even get to set foot at an university. College is not about where you, but what you make out of it. An “A” student will be an “A” student at Harvard or Chaffey. Anyways, the whole point is that we must appreciate what we have and thank that, at least, we have the option and luxury of going to college.

Frankenstein: By Brent S

I would like to start off by saying that I have already read this book sophomore year and I thoroughly enjoyed it so it will be interesting to see how much I enjoy it the second time through.  During this blog post I will try not to reveal any parts of the book we have not discussed in class so that I do not ruin the surprise of the book for people.

The introduction of the book is very interesting.  Shelley starts out with the captain of a ship trying to reach the North Pole.  Walton, the captain, is writing to his sister, Margaret, about his adventures.  While on the ship Walton sees a large figure being pulled by sleigh dogs.  The large figure obviously represents the monster created by the main character, which we find to be Victor Frankenstein.  Walton’s obsession for reaching the North Pole is also an interesting concept to keep in mind as you finally stop reading the letters and start reading about Victor’s life because it will soon show a parallel with one of Victor’s obsessions.

In conclusion, I would recommend anyone to read this book not only because it is a classic but because it is an all around great book.  I’m also looking forward to the discussions we will have in class about the book.

Frankenstein

Since we are progressing steadily towards reading Frankenstein, I figured that I would write/type a blog post about this staple in gothic fiction. I'd like to say that this post will have a clear, straightforward theme throughout it. However, I am sure that I will end up deviating in some way, seeing as this post is dedicated almost solely on my reactions and ruminations on Mary Shelley and her brainchild Frankenstein.
To start, I was astonished to hear that Mary Wollestonecraft Shelley (a mouthful for a name) wrote the classic masterpiece at the tender age of 18, and even more surprised to hear that she had written it because of a writing competition between her lover, her step-sister, my namesake Lord Byron, and herself while they were all on vacation. First off, I pity these four to an extent. All alone together, and the most fun thing they could think of doing was writing stories? I could see some of the merit in writing stories for competition; it is time-consuming enough to be able to spend a lot of vacation time occupied, and obviously if not for the story-writing, Frankenstein may never have come into existence, and its influence across literature and popular culture would never happen. However, writing stories, especially one as long as Frankenstein, is a bit tedious, and definitely not something one would be able to do without some degree of mental fortitude and diligence.
Also, I found the format of Frankenstein to be a bit unorthodox; a man writes to his sister about the story of a man he saved in the North Pole. Epistolary writing adds a tone of realism to the text, but Frankenstein is a romantic novel. Also, epistolary writing is not a very common writing style. Off the top of my head, I can think of no other works that even use epistolary writing. Although this may be because of my lack of literary knowledge, I think that other people would be equally challenged in finding a work of fiction that uses epistolary writing.
Finally, although I didn't learn this today, ironically enough, Frankenstein is the name of the professor, but not the actual monster. However, for what is probably decades, the monster has been given the misnomer of Frankenstein, instead of the professor. Various movies and novels use the term "Frankenstein" to describe the creation of Victor Frankenstein, when the monster actually never had a name for itself. I'm not completely sure why I put this superfluous piece of information in here, but I found it interesting, and hopefully others will too.
That just about wraps up this blog post. Cue the fanfare and the parade! Well, not really. Anyway, I'll be back in about...six weeks? Until then.
Byron C.

Random, Wierd, but Fun Story Using Literary-Period-Associated Words

Story and post by Alex Chang

Ok, so I have some people who likes this completely random story while others (familiar faces here now...!) thought it was wierd and confusing. Personally, I thought it was really funny even after reading it over five times. Bottom line: people may say it is junk, but I like it. I'm going to be using names here because these lucky winners get to experience my chaotic world! The numbers I put in the story are notes that are at the bottom of the post.


Once upon an era, in a FEUDALISTIC society, there exists a town named Midgar (1). The inhabitants loved PLAYWRIGHTS, which they saturate with an assortment of SYMBOLS that are realistic and unrealistic. In fact, some excavators believe that these symbols often center on their god, a giant, yellow, electric mouse with red cheek patches (2). This god was said to be the INTELLECTUAL being that inspired the scientific REDISCOVERY of dimensional travels. One of the excavator on the site, Jacy, stumbled into a hidden chamber covered with slimy substance that tasted like peanut butter. She discovered that the walls of this DARK room are engraved with the EXPOSITORY incantation to summon Sephiroth (3), the One-Winged Angel. Since she always wanted to have Sephiroth's autograph, she opened her mouth and started singing the spell with her MELODRAMATIC voice. The magic field that the spell started to generate caused chaos in the other rooms where the other excavators wondered where Jacy went. They were suddenly swarmed by hopping mushrooms with fangs (4), with Byron dubbed as the CONSERVATIVE politician's revenge. Brent suddenly said that if these sushi ingredients aren't more adhered to INDIVIDUALISM, he'll run their heads off with his awesome racecar. Suddenly, aliens attack the site where the ancient ruins of Midgar is, shouting something about how they're going to beautify the world with their crusade for BEAUTY. They fired a beautiful, oh so godly shield-your-eye-because-it
s-too-beautiful beautiful, aurora beam (5) at the ruins just when Jacy finished singing the spell. Oh, what perfect timing, what perfect EXACTNESS. Sephiroth appears in the sky, shouting about how Mother (6) had granted his LIBERATION and that he must purge the world for Mother. The aliens looked up and said "HE MUST BE THIS AFRICAN AMERICAN (7) THE MYTH HAD MENTIONED. LET'S BEAUTIFY HIM!!" The DISILLUSIONED aliens fired aurora beams at Sephiroth, but Alicia, Alex, David, Bethany, Eleanor, Daniel, Cory, Max, who all also wanted Sephiroth's autograph, summoned Coldplay, Paramore, Within Temptation, Angela Aki, The Black Mages, Kelly Clarkson, Jay Chou, Alter Bridge, and Lady Gaga and have all musicians, singers, performers, bands, and music groups perform a song about INTELLECTUALISM so the aliens won't be disillusioned to think that Sephiroth is this African American of the legend (they probably thought Sephiroth was John Legend). Byron thought the whole ordeal was SENSELESS so he called the Pikachu god (8) to use a multi-area effect thunder attack. Alician said to Byron "Pikachu exists in YOUR FANTASY. Let me summone someone REAL. I summon thee, Riku (9)!" Both a giant Pikachu and Riku the Dawn Warrior appeared, which created a time warp into the CONTEMPORARY era. The inhabitants of the Contemporary era though the aliens were the COUNTER-CULTURE group and started hunting them down, immune to their beautification weapons. Sephiroth, still flying, started slashing at the Dawn Warrior with his NON-EUROCENTRIC sword/katana. Pikachu, which had been charging up to use a multi-area effect thunder attack, used a super thunderbolt, which fried the world, turning it into a giant, beautiful sushi roll and the moon turned into a giant boba milk tea!

Notes:
(1). Midgar was a fictional place in Final Fantasy VII where the electric company Shinra exist. Shinra created the antagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth, by conducting experiments on Sephiroth's mother. Midgar was destroyed when a meteor crashed soon after Sephiroth's defeat.

(2). This "god" is actually a huge Pikachu, as later mentioned in the story. Pikachu is a Pokemon and is the mascot of the Pokemon world. This Pokemon is well known for its electric attack. Pikachu does not have the ability to perform space-time distortion.

(3). Sephiroth is the main antagonist in Final Fantasy VII. Originally a hero, he became a villain once he learned of the horrible experiments Shinra conducted to him. He ended up hating the entire world. Sephiroth is characterized with his single black angle wing protruding from his left shoulder and carries a seven foot long katana called Masamune.

(4). These mushrooms with fangs are called Goombas. Goombas are small rogue mushrooms in the Mushroom Kingdom in the Mario world. They are easily defeated with a single jump on their heads.

(5). Aurora beam is an attack often used by ice-type Pokemons. It is characterized as an icy, multicolored beam and deals moderate damage.

(6). The Mother, named Jenova, mentioned in this story is not Sephiroth's mother, but an alien life-form whose cells are taken to use for experimentation on Sephiroth's mother. Nevertheless, it was this life-form that made Sephiroth who he is. Jenova is also called the "Calamity from the Skies" and "Heaven's Dark Harbinger." The "n" could had been a shortned "h," suggesting that Jenova is a false god.

(7). Sephiroth is not African America.
(8). This "Pikachu God" is actually the Pikachu God that the ancient inhabitant of Midgar (of this story) had worshipped.
(9). Riku is a protagonist from the Kingdom Hearts series. Riku uses a sword called the Keyblade, which he named "The Way to Dawn" and therefore is also called the Dawn Warrior.

Why I want to puruse English as a career/ college essay

J. White

Drumming my fingertips on the surface of the desk, I impatiently exhale as I see that after two minutes my internet Solitaire game is only 25% loaded. Irritated and bored, I click on the “Free Poetry Contest!” pop-up that flickered in the top margin of the screen. The rules were simple: write a poem and click submit. Yet for an eager eight year old with soaring thoughts of ingenuity zigzagging in each crevice of my imagination, it was nearly impossible to settle on one topic. So instead I went with the first thing I saw: a picture of my current fourth grade teacher Mrs. Rader. Filling the four minute time gap I had remaining for my game to load, I constructed a poem of six stanzas with perfect rhythm and exact rhymes. “My Teacher is a lie-detector, when a problem is a-brew, she tracks it down, learns more about it, and knows exactly what to do”. It wasn’t too shabby for a girl who recently learned how to spell teacher!
A seemingly pointless use of time, yet those four minutes cultivated an abiding desire to pursue a career in English, as I had never viewed Language Arts as a subject of stimulation. My poem was soon framed in the school principal’s office, passed around as room moms gently wiped tears from heir face, and published in The Book of Anthology. Every educator and adult urged my future career as a writer, despite my young adolescence. I began to read every book available, acquiring inspiration to write my own short stories about mythical creatures, wild animals escaping the zoo, and hot-air balloons adventures. Writing did to my imagination what exercise did for my body, as I ascertain abilities to stretch my limitations and employ all emotions. My love for literature became a passion, in which I thirsted for more knowledge on correct punctuation, sentence construction, perfect diction, and a broader vocabulary.
I evolved from a decent essayist to a talented writer, composing audacious novellas in my free time, tutoring struggling students on their thesis statements, and serving as Section Editor and Head Copy Editor of our high school newspaper. However the shallow curriculum of my AP English classes did not satisfy my ceaseless yearning to articulate my perspective, communicate my storylines, or convey my creativity. I ache to explore the vigor of English composition, I covet more knowledge of analysis and perception, I crave the wisdom that will enable my success as an imminent author. Utilizing the programs available in the College of Arts and Sciences, I expect to not only to explore the dynamism of English, but to be a triumphant asset to the course. As I continue on my eternal pursuit for complete insight on flawless grammar, impeccable sentence structure, various styles, and ideal diction, I anticipate developing my own voice as an author through the College of Arts and Sciences. In doing so, my pieces can not only be ideally assembled, but most significantly have something to say.

What is so “wonderful” about Wonderland?

Puberty is a time of change: A time where the individual does not seem to fit into the world around her or him. Alice finds herself in that exact situation of confusion and anxiety when she descends into Wonderland. She does not seem to fit into the magical and mysterious world around her; in her view, everyone is crazy and she is the only one that is right. That exact feeling Alice had while in Wonderland embodies being a teenager: You (the teenager) are right and normal, while the world is filled with lunatics that want to make you cry.

Wonderland embodies that feeling: Alice does not feel comfortable. On the contrary, she is desolate and confused. So then, why is Wonderland so wonderful if it makes Alice feel the opposite of wonderful (at times0? Wonderland is wonderful because it allows Alice to explore her inner troubles and thoughts. Although the thoughts and troubles might be overwhelming for Alice—and she at times might not know where she is going to end up—they are an essential part of “growing up.” Moreover, by facing our inner anxieties as a teenagers, our individual Wonderlands allow us to discover our own definition of the "true meaning of life."

Archetypes in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

            An interesting archetype within Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is in chapter 5 when the pigeon refers to Alice as a serpent.  If one is reading with simple interpretation it may seem at first as a literal reference to a serpent.  As she had a long flexible neck and was thought to have consumed the pigeon’s eggs.  However, if one truly looks at the book in an open fashion, it is evident that her similarities to a serpent function as ways for the reader to better understand her transcendent rebirth through archetypes.

            The archetypal meaning of serpents represents the death of the self and a transcendent rebirth.  The presence of the serpent archetype significantly enhances the meaning of the Alice’s adventures.  Whereas someone who simply reads the story with no outside connection may merely see Alice’s journey as a simple expedition from boredom, through the archetypes used, we are able to see more.  It is now evident that her self in real life has given way to her new self in her dream world.  Her dream vision isn’t simply her situation in reality but a fusion of her curiosity and inner debates.  This becomes increasingly clear when recalling Alice’s confrontation with a new social hierarchy where humans are on the bottom.  Her personality and self in reality, unknown and confused, is about to be infused with her new dream reality.  She wonders if she’s going to approach life differently when she returns back to her life.  

-Phillip J

First Blog Post Ever (for this team): Brent S

I'm Number 98 the teal and orange car

Last weekend I had a race at Irwindale Speedway and we had troubles all the way up to the race.  I qualified 10  out of 21 which is absolutely horrible compared to the normal top 3 or 4.  We finally fixed the car for the race, finding that caster was off 2 degrees, so i was much faster than the cars in front of me.  The problem with being that far back in the pack is that one is much more prone to crashing and since I was in the middle of points racing a crash would be catastrophic to my points lead. For those who don't know what points racing is basically don't do anything that will crash the car (aka don't be stupid). The whole race I forced myself to be patient as every wreck happened all around me. I was luckily able to come out unscathed. Now how does this apply to what we are learning in our English class?  In the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice quickly learns how frustrating the animals can be. They all seem to be super sensitive to everything Alice says whether it be the Rabbit, the Caterpillar, or even the Birds. This forces her to be patient in order to learn how to act in the suitably named Wonderland.  It will be interesting to see how Alice copes with future trials and events that take place in the book.