The Big Blue



Since the day I was born, my parents were obsessed with travel. Literally a few weeks after my birth, we shipped off to Dubai for the first year and a half of my life. We stopped for a few years to let my sister and I grow up so we could be fit for the trip of a lifetime--Seaworld. It has always been said that Seaworld is one of the best places to take your little kids. Go see the cute little dolphins and the calm gigantic whales. Usually it's a dream, but for me it was a nightmare. It was there that I discovered my fear of killer whales.

My fear is the most embarrassing thing in the world to admit, and I usually don't share it with people, but I am deathly afraid of whales! When I went to see the cute Orca show,  I was sitting way too close for comfort. The incredibly giant whale jumped on the deck and sprayed water to its fan section, and I flipped out. I ran to the very top of the stands and never looked back. As a five-year old that experience was traumatic. My mom has told me about many other things that scared me while we were there, but there is no other incident that I can remember.

The life-changing experience left me permanently scarred. For years I could never even look at a picture of a whale without wanting to cry and hurl all at the same time. This is so embarrassing considering that this was a problem until last year. I turned over a new leaf and I now can go as far as glancing at a picture of the KILLER creatures. I have gone from sheer panic to slightly nauseous, and for me that is an enormous accomplishment.

Hopefully one day I'll get back to being able to watch my favorite childhood movie--Free Willy. It is so ironic that I loved that movie until my terrible experience. If and when I overcome my post-traumatic stress disorder, I will have a Free Willy marathon. Until then, if I ever see an Orca, I will run away crying.

The Greatest Series of All-Time

The Greatest Series of All-Time

Harry Potter has made not only a major impact throughout the world, but in my life as well. Ever since I opened the first pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, I felt a deep connection to the series. Although it involves another world of magic, there are many themes that are relatable. The prominent themes of the series are love, courage, and death. Courage is a quality both greatly admired and shown constantly in Harry Potter.

Bravery is very important in both Harry Potter and the lives of high-schoolers around the globe. The phrase “standing up for what you believe in” has always been considered a cliché, but this fantastic series by J.K. Rowling has taught me that courage is a very admirable quality and is something I should strive for. This quality has helped shape me with fearlessness.

Another transformational theme is death. From the beginning, Harry Potter has learned to cope with death and the fact that it is impossible to avoid. After losing his parents before he could even wipe his own drool off his chin, Harry grew up in a home with his aunt and uncle who despised him and treated him worse than dirt. As the series progresses, death becomes an enemy of Harry as many people around him tragically pass away. Although it is incredibly sad, it helps make the series more realistic and relatable.

The final and most important theme of the series is love. Love helped Harry escape Lord Voldemort every time they faced eachother and helped him realize that he, as the chosen one, could defeat the Dark Lord. Another amazing example is Severus Snape. The entire series he is despised by Harry and his friends, and trust me, the feeling is mutual. In the final book however, Harry discovers that Snape had lived and died for his mother—for love. That was a very climatic moment of the series and made Snape the greatest character of the series.

Overall, the themes of Harry Potter have helped me to create a very deep connection to the greatest series of all time. Though J.K. Rowling created another world of spellbooks and werewolves, the themes make the audience realize that wizards and witches endure the same problems as muggles. I can’t imagine another series that could impact the world more than Harry Potter.

A Vindication of the Rights of Women

When I read first skimmed Mary Wollstonecraft's article, I knew that it would be very lengthy and difficult to get through. However, the subject of the article provided great interest to me, because I find the story of how women's rights developed fascinating. As I opened began the article, I discovered that it is extremely informative and very persuasive in the points it makes towards feminists and women's rights as citizens.

Wollstonecraft did an amazing job at comparing men to women and showing that they are more alike than most people think. Yes, some men are more athletically fit or stronger, but that does not automatically make them better. The comparison brought me back to the days of elementary school when boys had cooties and were never talked to because they thought they were too good for the girls. I have no idea why that thought has always stuck in my head, but if eight-year-old boys ruined my days on the playground, I can't even begin to imagine a women's life in the workforce in the 1700's. 

I think another great theme Wollstonecraft addressed in her article was the fact that many men believe women are put on the earth to obey and serve them. This point is still a big issue in today's world because many men still believe women should only live to support him and his family. She made many great points throughout the article, but one of my favorites was when she discussed Eve being made out of Adam's ribs in the bible. This story is a very powerful one and I believe it symbolizes a man and a women in a committed relationship serving each other. God did not intend to make women for the sole purpose of serving men. That is absurd to think, and the way Wollstonecraft addressed that issue was incredible. 

Though there were some great points throughout the article, I also found it almost impossible to understand. I found myself having to look up almost half of the words in the article and having to reread paragraphs to even begin to understand the meaning of the long phrases. As it was written hundreds of years ago, I understand the language is complicated, but I wish that it could be modernized to make the article easier to comprehend because I believe Wollstonecraft made many beautiful points. 

I wish that I could talk to Wollstonecraft today and compare the times of women back in the 1700's to now. That would be a fascinating experience and though it is impossible, reading this article brought me the closest I could possibly be to discussing the differences in culture, not only women's rights but human rights, and women themselves. Although it was excruciatingly difficult to understand, I would argue this article is a good connection to the past of women and the history of women's rights.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

For my AP Composition book, I read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. The book was actually recommended to me by my mom, who pushed for Angelou's unique style of writing and fascinating life story, as my mom has listened to Angelou speak at a women's conference. Any story that discusses the struggle of a women and a fight to be accepted is one that I cannot resist. When I first opened the frayed pages of my copy of Angelou's famous memoir, I was slightly skeptical. Angelou was regarded as a famous poet before she published her autobiography, and I am not much of a poetry fan. I soon realized that poetry only strengthened her style of writing and added even more to the spectacular book.

The book opens in the small negro town of Stamps, Arkansas. Marguerite, Angelou's birth name, lives in an average house with her brother, Bailey, grandmother, and crippled Uncle Willie. She and Bailey, only one year apart, were sent to live with their grandmother at ages three and four, and they have grown up helping her run her store for the local workers and frequent travelers. Angelou was always the ugly duckling of the family and constantly feels neglected and ugly. She also attended church every Sunday. Her grandmother is a very religious women and always made Maya and Bailey sit in the first row. The first chapters of the book center the reader on a typical day in the life of her five-year-old self.

As Angelou ages, her parents believe it is time for her and Bailey to visit them in their homes. When she goes to visit her mother, she is raped repeatedly by her mother's boyfriend. After the tragic assault, Maya is never the same person. The book continues to show her struggle in life as her childhood was abruptly ended and she tries to survive in the "big" world.

I praise Angelou's writing because of the way she shapes simple sentences with complex thoughts. Multiple times I found myself rereading sections of the book and thinking on the different meanings of statements. "See you don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking." This quote was recited to Angelou by her mother in the end of the book and shows Angelou's interesting style of writing. It also symbolizes a strong moral; do what you believe is right always and live with no regrets. This is a very powerful message. Another thing I loved about Angelou, was the number of worldly problems she seemed to work into her book. Examples were women's rights, African-American's rights, World War 2, and sexual assault. Though she was raised in the 1940's, it is crazy to see that the world is still fighting for the same rights and freedoms.

The ending of the book provides a crazy twist that leaves the reader pleasantly confused. When I finished the book, I was satisfied with the ending, but I didn't want it to end. The grand finale seemed to tie in all of the issues Maya had encountered on her journey through life and brought them together into one lesson, which I believe is the biggest thing to take away from reading this book--life for yourself. The entire book, Angelou is struggling to live for things that never satisfied her and left her crushed. Once she was able to find peace with God, she realized that He wants us to live for who we are and not what anyone else wants us to be. That is a great lesson for me especially, because I personally relate very well. I find it easy to live for the typical high school problems or sports, when I really should be focusing on myself and my relationship with God. That was an amazing experience.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a phenomenal read and I absolutely recommend it to anyone. The lessons learned and the extremely unique style of writing makes the book impossible to put down. This book has changed the way I view life itself, and I cannot wait to see how it effects others as well.

Artificial Intelligence

"Is Google Making Us Stupid?" is a fascinating article. After reading the title, I thought the question seemed absurd; however, as I dug in deeper to Nicholas Carr's alluring take on artificial intelligence of the human brain, I am amazed at my absolute agreement with all of his arguments.

It is almost impossible to tell the difference between writing a paper by hand and typing it up; though Carr places a valid argument in saying that the more our fingers stroke the keys, the more the mind wanders to other things. I have personally noticed this as my mind has already wandered off in a million directions while writing my response to his article. I have also noticed that most of my research and learning consists of hyperlinks and Google searches. In a world that is striving for fast information, we don't have time to look for what we need in a book. It's impossible to avoid the obvious truth, that Carr is completely right. The way we comprehend information is by skimming an article instead of reading a book on the subject. The argument is all together correct, and that fact alone scares me.

The amount of research that was conducted for this article was also astonishing. Every argument that was made was backed up by a number of facts and resources, including respected thinkers and professors dating back to Socrates. That alone made the article more believable because without research, most of the audience would be hard to convince.

Another great point Carr mentioned was texting. Texting has become a world-wide phenomenon and another way to receive everything you want immediately. Instead of calling your friend to go get coffee, you can text them and head straight there because everyone is constantly on their phone. I am definitely guilty when it comes to texting. I can say that I do not use Facebook as much as some of my peers and I watch less television, but I will openly admit I always have my phone with me. I think it has lowered my patience level because I am always waiting for something to come right away and that has quite a bit to do with technology.

Overall, I am scared to say that I agree with Carr completely. The entire world is turning to artificial intelligence and crushing the knowledge they already have inside their brains. As Google becomes smarter, we are losing brain cells and reading this article makes me want to cling tight to all of the real knowledge I have left.

Metaphorically Speaking...

When I opened up "Total Eclipse" by Annie Dillard and began to read, only one word crossed my mind--confusion. It seemed as though she was bouncing around to different subjects, making it almost impossible to find the true moral of the story. Finally, towards the end of the story, all of her pointless stories came together to make one, beautiful meaning. I think Dillard is trying to give her audience the best advice possible: live life in the moment.

It seemed as though reflecting on the six old men glued to the television, or the painting of the vegetable clown were simple, meaningless thoughts. Instead, these 'pointless' thoughts were reflections of the life she has chosen to live. As she is getting older, it is time to pass the torch onto the younger generation as it is "their time to live." I think in that passage she was admitting that she had done all the living she wanted to do, and it was time to relax in a comfortable, laid-back lifestyle. But because she had agreed to pass on the torch, she began reliving her life choices and as they all rushed back to her during the eclipse. I think that the different parts of the eclipse symbolized the vast moments of her life. The sun rising was resembling her birth and early years, and the dark dragon resembled the dark times in her life or the bad decisions she made. The white life saver or ring towards the end of the eclipses was the most important of all. I think it was the silver lining--the promise from God that despite the darkness, the light will always shine through. And as they left the incredibly tall hill, she spotted the partial eclipse; good was finally overcoming evil and taking it's rightful place. That was the ultimate sign that she was going to make it through whatever life threw at her.

Through all of the reflection, I think Dillard finally realized the moral of the story. She wanted to spread the message that she received from God in that rare sight of the eclipse--live life in the moment. It seemed as though everyone around her was always in a rush and distracted from the natural beauty of the earth. As she admitted she was done living, she wanted to spread the greatest advice she could give to the next generation so that they could live as fully as she did.

The reason that it is so easy to comprehend this message from Dillard's story is because of all the metaphors she slipped in. To fully describe the eclipse, she compared the moon to a dragon and the ring of light to a white life saver. Her reactions to the different parts of the eclipse were described so well in metaphors, I felt as though I was there along beside her experiencing the same feelings. Before reading this article, I had no idea how much of an effect metaphors can have on your writing, and it encouraged me to use many more in my writing.

The Day Everyone Remembers--9/11

No matter where you were or what you were doing, it is impossible to forget where you were when the news of the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in the heart of New York on September 11th, 2001 was released. I was only in kindergarden when two histrocial monuments of one of the world's most famous cities collapsed, but I can still picture the look on my teacher's face when she told us that something terrible had happened. Even now, I can remember the panic in my mother's eyes when she hugged me and took me home from school. With your eyes glued to the television, the attacks scarred a painful memory into my brain. I cannot even begin to imagine viewing the falling of the towers through your own apartment window.

In John Updike's article in the New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" section, he explains the horror of witnessing that tragic day from his tenth-floor apartment window in Brooklyn Heights. After reading his article, I felt as though I was back in my small kindergarden classroom. The way he told his experience clearly took me back to that day. My favorite passage of his article was when he discussed the silence of the city that never sleeps. "It (the first tower) fell straight down like an elevator, with a tinkling shiver and a groan of concussion distinct across the mile of air. We knew we had just witnessed thousands of deaths; we clung to each other as if we ourselves were falling. Amid the glittering impassivity of the many buildings across the East River, an empty spot had appeared, as if by electronic command, beneath the sky that, but for the sulfurous cloud streaming south toward the ocean, was pure blue, rendered uncannily pristine by the absence of jet trails." The way he describes the emptiness after the first tower had collapsed made me picture the city completely silent. The brilliant word choice also made me feel even more connected to the story in such a vivid way that I felt as though I was experiencing the trauma alongside him. His article moved me in ways that I never imagined writing could.

As I finished Updike's article, I turned to the second article by Susan Sontag. Sontag's article was one of the most incredible pieces I have ever read. It made me think of the way the attacks were portrayed in an entirely different mindset. Sontag carefully bombarded the media and Washington with questions on how they are dealing with 9/11. The questions are ones that all of America should have asked. She helped me realize that many times, the government and media act as though we are inept for the real truth and we should fight for justice. We as citizens deserve more than just the stereotypical superpower comments. With powerful word choice and very convincing arguments, she tells the reader everything she believes he or she deserves to know. By the way the article is written, I can tell that she is fighting for the American public. "Let's by all means grieve together. But let's not be stupid together." That passage is by far my favorite and the most powerful because it sums up the point of the incredibly convincing article in two sentences. We, as Americans, know that our country is strong; but after 9/11, that is not what we want to hear. 

All About Me

I would like to think of myself as a busy person. Throughout the year I am constantly on the run and trying to accomplish all of the things I want to get done in my high school career. There are so many things I could go on about, but the most important three are sports, travel, and music.

Ever since I was a young girl, my parents signed me up for everything they could possibly think of. From bowling league to gymnastics, my days were filled with running from the court to the field to make all of my practices and games. In all of my dedication to sports, the one sport I never tried was tennis. Coincidentally, tennis is the one sport I am still very committed to today. I have played the sport all three of my high school years and it has taught me many lessons on teamwork and competition. Words cannot describe the love I have for the sport. It makes me laugh to think that in all the things I tried, tennis was never one of them.

Travel is another passion of mine that has already made an amazing impact on my life. Because my dad was born in Palestine and raised in Jordan, and my mom lived in Italy for 13 years, I have a very unique family. Since I was born, I have been traveling the world. I have gone from Jordan and Dubai, to Italy and London. Traveling has not only helped me see the different lifestyles of those around the world, but it has helped me grow as a person. I can now view the world so much differently from the average American teenager. I have seen children living completely different lives than I do across the globe and it has really made me appreciate what I have. I hope that I can continue to travel around the world the rest of my life and see all that is out there to discover.

From hip-hop to country to indie rock, music is another thing that can be discovered all around the globe. Music has really impacted my life since I was a little girl. Both of my parents always encouraged me to follow my dreams, even when I told them I aspired to be a princess and especially a professional singer. I have been told all I would do from the time I could talk was sing my heart out. Since that time, I have given up the legendary one-hit wonder dream, but I have participated in many musicals beginning in 5th grade. Lately, I have begun to focus on school and sports instead of music, but I will always love the rush of performing. And I still love belting out to the latest hit on the radio.

Tennis, travel, and music will always play an enormous role in my life for years to come, and I hope that I have shared a little bit about what defines me as a person!