(Ignore all my other Blog reflections!) TRUE REFLECTIONS FOR THIS QUARTER

Throughout this quarter, my blogs were mostly responses from my classmates’ blogs. I believe that my classmates’ blogs had gave me a different perspective towards writing. In the responses, there were many agreements for me and it brought up more ideas that i can write in the future. I realized that my blog response were mostly based on academics and i would like to improve myself by responding to other blogs that doesn’t typically relate to academics. Blogging with my classmates has changed the way I write, and now I want to think more deeply about the differences between my academic and non-academic writing.


This is my first time setting up a blog and from reading all my classmates’ blog, i had understood why blogs are so important. Responding classmates’ blogs had help me carry back my memories from the past just like the response post that I did about Bullying based on David Su’s blog.Writing response posts to classmates’ blogs had help me become a better writer because reading the blogs had gave me improvements towards my grammars and conventions.

When i was in fifth grade i was once teased by a classmate of mine and he called me fat and started to bully me. My feelings were hurt and i began to cry. Bullying can be a serious issue and when you hurt some one’s feeling very bad, you don’t know what they would do to themselves.Some people would cry after they are hurt however there are some that would hurt themselves or others.

Responding to blogs was a way for me to tell people about my past where i was embarrassed or hurt. By expressing myself with response blogs,it had help me get over the fears of my embarrassments. Harsh memories that had always been in my heart had slowly disappeared after I let it all out by using blogs. As I read the response post that i wrote from David’s blog, I realized that my grammars had improved and the sentences were flowing more smoothly. I remember before I started writing blogs, my writings were a blur. I was struggling with long run-on sentences that had caused difficulties for my readers to read my writings. I realized why blogs are important after reading lots of my classmates’ blogs and from reading David’s blog, i recognized how his post had affected me because after reading his blog, it helped me understand more about bullying and helped me bring back my past memories.

            I had been writing many types of literature since I was a little kid where I learned how to write sentences with a few words. For example, when I was five years old I learned how to write “ She is big.” Blogs is different then what i usually write on literature papers because for blogs i don’t have to base my writings on anything because i could do free writes. Since we have freedom on blogs, i was able to express myself more. One of my free write responses was about Christmas from Karisa’s blog and i don’t believe that many teachers would actually let you choose that topic.

Something that i like about christmas is that you are able to enjoy a christmas tree full of candy canes and your family chatting eachother. Christmas is like a family reunion for me and also a time to receive things that i would need to supply for my whole year.

Usually when we have to write any literature, we would need to have a topic that is usually given by teachers. The way how I had responded to Karisa’s Blog was actually a free write and that topic was chosen by me. I really enjoyed that topic because Christmas is one of my favorite holidays of all and to be able to talk about this topic was my pleasure.Doing these free writes of blogging had gave me a chance to actually to feel free like how birds can fly. Blogging had changed the way I think about writing because in the past i thought writing any kind of literature was hard and can make me suffer however after I started to blog ;I realized that writing could be fun and a great way to tell other people about my feelings,life, and etc.

The times where I have to write more structured academic assignments like from writing classes are different from what i have to write in blogs because blogs are usually based on free write and your perspectives. Academic assignments were usually based on rubrics ,however we don’t need that typically for blog posts. I had wrote a blog post about moon cakes and it was my first free write post that was about my culture.

  Today my family and I celebrated the moon festival where we would have moon cakes, fruits, and other foods while looking at the magnificent round and bright moon after the sky turns dark. The moon cake festival can also be called Qiong Qiu festival where it is usually celebrated on Aug 15 lunar year.

I am the type of writer that can do horrible on writings once it is graded with a rubric ,however I find that doing blogs are really easy because i don’t need to a rubric to follow. I would get a good grade once i meet the requirements of creating a blog post. Also writing blogs are different then writing academic assignments because on the blog post about moon cakes, I didn’t have to follow any specific type of writing structures like persuasive essays and etc. I was able to represent my culture with this blog post and it is really important to me that I can represent my culture. Many people that are not from my culture may not know about my culture so blogging is a great way for me to share my culture to people.

After reading the blogs I had posted over this quarter, i have some goals to make. My first goal is to  write more words on my blog posts because I always find that my blog posts aren’t long or detailed enough so I would like to improve that. My second goal is to write my future blog posts with improvements of grammars and conventions because i always have the type of errors where my placement of words were incorrect or my spellings were wrong. This is an important goal because I don’t want my readers to get confused on my blogs. My last goal is to improve myself on doing blog posts by doing it more faster because I had always been procrastinating. My problem with procrastinating with my blog post was caused by Facebook because I couldn’t focus with Facebook on.  From the beginning until now, I had a lot of fun blogging and it provided me more thinking !

Character Vs. Fate? Of Mice and Men

                                                             Of Mice And Men

    In the novella, Of Mice And Men, by John Steinback directs the story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two guys who depended on each other through out their struggles for a job around California during the Great Depression. Life was difficult during the Great Depression however Lennie and George knew that they would be together although they have differences.  Lennie is not as smart as George however George isn’t as big as Lennie. They both share a similar idea which is having their own lands and live together with happiness and warmth. The central conflict in Of Mice And Men is character vs. fate because they dream about their fate, however there are numerous problems just to reach that fate.

In the beginning of the story, George and Lennie had both lost their job and did not have money. What they were doing was thinking about the outcomes they do not want for their future or other words, do not want to stay like the way they are.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They came to a ranch an work a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.”(13-14)

It shows their perspective on what they think towards themselves and others who work like them. They do not appreciate the works that they are doing for their job. It is George’s opinion that guys that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world because not all ranch workers believe that they are actually lonely.This was only an excuse that he don’t want work on ranches and would love to chase his fate.They are giving a bad impression on what they are viewing about themselves creating a low self esteem however these low self self esteem would help turn them into high confident men who could create their own better future. George and Lennie should know that there is a low chance that they can chase their fate however what they are trying to do is to give each other confidence that they would be able to chase their fate.

Life was difficult for George and Lennie because they had to find jobs in order to earn enough money to chase their fate. George and Lennie have confidence that they can chase their fate and earn the outcome that they wanted all along.

“George went on.”With us it ain’t like that. we got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit n no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys get in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” (14)

It gives an explanation on the way that they don’t want their lives to become and how they know they will have improvements throughout their lives to chase their fate. Fate which was their outcome had always been what they had always wanted through out their life. They have self confidence that in the future they wouldn’t be the ones they are now.George and Lennie will not forfeit because they know that they need to succeed their fate. They know that they have a future that they will not let go and they won’t care about other people around them other than themselves.  In order to succeed their fate they must face difficulties throughout their life before approaching to their dreamed outcome.

Lennie and George had always been chasing their fate. They wanted their own acres of land and live together happily ever after just like fairytale stories. Whenever they are together and notice that they are poor; they would talk about their future and their fate.

“O.K. someday - we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and __”” An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” Lennie shouted.”(14).

They wanted their fate so much that they would have imaginations for their future. This is a striking thing because as you can see they could go on and on for what they want their future to be.The author is trying to explain to us that George and Lennie had always dream about their fate. They have high expectations towards their future outcomes. They viewed their outcomes with the word someday because they do not know when will their fate is going to happen however they know that it is going to be their future.

Clearly, Lennie and George had many struggles to reach their dreamed fate. They had lost their jobs however they went through a myriad of conflicts in order to chase their fate. They know that their fate is destined however they had not forfeit. They dislike how they are working in ranches ,so their dream is to move out from working ranches and start their new lives in the future to have their own acres of lands.

Response to Karisa's Blog: I wish it was christmas

This is a quote from Karisa’s blog about Christmas!

I agree with Karisa that there are alot of preparation especiallly when you have to go shopping for presents. i find that christmas is a holiday that would get my head to ache. The reason is because i have to think of buying a christmas tree and what to put in the christmas tree. The most important preparation is to don’t forget to buy presents for your families and friends. I had been buying alot of presents for my families. For instance for my two little girl cousins, i had bought them each a doll and as for my brother and my other little boy cousin i bought them each a soccer ball. Although it would be hard to pick the gifts, you would know that it is worth it because of the happiness you can receive from them.

Something that i like about christmas is that you are able to enjoy a christmas tree full of candy canes and your family chatting eachother. Christmas is like a family reunion for me and also a time to receive things that i would need to supply for my whole year.

I also miss Christmas too after it is over because there is always these shopping sales that you always recieve since it is christmas. i remember the first time i bought an onsale camera, i was extremely happy because i could afford it and enjoy it all to myself. Sometimes i would go shopping malls because they are alot of fun. Everytime i go into Abercrombie or Hollister i get super crazy that i run into the store and start grabbing whatever i can hold. Christmas is fun especially when you can shop and buy on sale stuff.

There is so much waiting and anticipation for Christmas day to come. There's so much preperation and shopping that goes into this one day and before you know it, it's over. This is pretty much the only thing I don't like about this time of the year. I always feel sad when Christmas day is over, but i know it will eventually come again.

A response to David Su's blog: Speech: Bullying in Alameda and how it can be stopped

This is a quote from David’s blog about bullying that i totally agree with!

Bullying can happen in many ways. At school, students can be judged by their personality or their looks. They could also be teased by what they do or how they act. The internet is another place where bullying appens constantly. During these past few years, the internet has been becoming a rather a popular place to chat and email each other. Forums such as Myspace and Facebook can hide the user’s name or be created with a fictitious name. Bullies can use this system to tease or post hurtful comments to make the victims feel depressed.h

Based on reading David’s quote, i realized that there are many bullying going around. First of all, i can relate to the quote on how students are judged by looks because i had once experienced this issue. When i was in fifth grade i was once teased by a classmate of mine and he called me fat and started to bully me. My feelings were hurt and i began to cry. Bullying can be a serious issue and when you hurt some one’s feeling very bad, you don’t know what they would do to themselves. Some people would cry after they are hurt however there are some that would hurt themselves or others.

Additionally, i find that it is true that bullying happens on facebook and myspace a lot. I can relate to this issue about bullying on websites too. Sometimes i could see my friends talk about other people using different names and i find the rude or mean. I feel very sad for the people that my friends are referring to. Although i ain’t the one that my friends are talking about, i still feel hurt. This is important that we should stop bullying because it hurt people too much. Even i am hurt and i feel bad for the ones who are hurt too! There should be new ways to stop bullying so nobody could be hurt! Also life would be better with the stop of bullying.

Cost of College?

This is a freewrite essay that i wrote about College Cost:

Most students received financial aid. In 2008-2009, more than 126 million in Financial aid was awarded to undergraduate students. Students sometimes can receive more financial aid if their college costs are higher. Out of a survey of 220,000 freshmen who attended one of the 1,555 4 year colleges and universities in the US, 30% estimated that their parents’ income was less than 50,000 and 53% have borrowed to attend college. Also at private universities, tuition increases have been accompanied by an increase of 10 percent in per student spending. A state budget cut is affecting more than 21,000 college students in California. Although many students and colleges had been affected by the economy there are still opportunities for financial aid.
First of all, colleges are expensive and from the early 1800s to now present days there is a massive change of college costs, but there are still ways that would be able for students to go. The comparison from the past and present days of college costs are big differences. For example, back in the early 1800s for university of Penn had been really cheap to go to because college fees were around 100-200 dollars and other expenses maybe a minimum of $ 285 and a maximum of $300. From the early 1800s until 2010, the cost to go to university of Penn had been massive because it became an average of $40,000 dollars. Although the past were a lot cheaper doesn’t mean that the price would be the same now in the present days. Since colleges are so expensive, students can apply for financial aid, which are student loans that must be repaid and students would have to pay interests. The average of loans would be $10,000. Another way to receive money is grants which are a form of funding that doesn’t need to be repaid and the average amount is $5,000. Scholarships are also a way to receive money to go to college which don’t need to be repaid and are awarded based on abilities. Our president Lyndon B, Johnson quoted, “We believe, that is, you and I, that education is not an expense. We believe it is an investment.” As you can see, expense is not a problem if you work hard to go to college.
Additionally, colleges and universities have suffered because of the bad economy. One way of affecting the colleges and universities are the budget cuts. The budget cuts had widely reduced 10% to each college’s overall budget. A Dartmouth staff Mitch Davis reported, “Dartmouth will lay off 60 employees which is 2% of its staff.” Not only that staffs are getting fired, but classes are getting cut back too. These cause students to lose their college opportunities. State budget director Linda Luebbering said, “The program offers financial need based scholarships of up to $4,600 a year for students ate private institutions, $2150 for students at state universities and $1,000 for those at community college. The cut is estimated to reduce those scholarships to $1000 at private institutions, $500 at state universities, and $150 at community colleges.”This budget cut affected high school graduates that want to go to college, but they don’t have the money. Many colleges had cut 800 course sections- more than 10 percent of its classes. Some professors may need to stretch their class size trying to take in as many students as the room could hold. According to a college student Mr. Villalta had reported that he was unable to take any history courses because he had a late registration and every course he tried to take was full. Large amount of students had to face the same problems with college right now.
Lastly, there are varieties of type of colleges including private colleges, universities, community colleges, online universities, and graduate schools. Private colleges are usually more expensive than other colleges because it is mostly funded by other sponsors and it is not public. Graduate schools are colleges that student would take after their 4 year college to earn a higher degree such as the master and bachelor degrees. Graduate students may receive financial aid and there are different types. If it is eligible, graduate students could receive more than one aid. Community colleges are the least expensive out of all the colleges. There are also online universities where students would go online and study their degrees. They don’t need to go to a real college but instead they can study online. The expenses for online universities and any universities are pretty much the same. Many professionals find it as a helpful resource to earn a degree.
Clearly, there are still ways to go to colleges and universities although there may be problems caused from the economy. There are ways like scholarships, financial aids, and grants, so don’t worry if u can’t afford to go to college. There is a bad economy right now and it is reducing all the college privileges that high school graduates are suppose to receive.

The Response to Andy's Blog! : Addicted to facebook!

I somehow agree with Andy’s Lau quote about being addicted to Facebook:

I am not going to lie, I am addicted to Facebook. I do not know why, but I always find myself going on that website without a goal or a legitimate reason. I have been addicted ever since the last few months of eighth grade when I decided to make an account. I never thought that it would become such a major problem. At first, I was curious about this website because everyone at school was talking about it. My curiosity caused me to create an account (something I totally regret), and now I have been using Facebook for almost two years.

From reading Andy Lau’s blog I realized that I am addicted to it too. For instance whenever I go home the first thing I do is open my laptop and start logging on to facebook to see what’s up with my friends. This annoys me because I couldn’t do my homework whenever I am on facebook. It is like this distraction in your brain that you can’t get rid of. I find that there should be enforcement for facebook so then I wouldn’t get distracted. I had the same reason on why I started facebook and I regret having facebook too.

Although there are bad things about facebook I also notice that facebook is also a good website too. There are reasons why we should keep facebook because sometimes facebook could be the resource to keep in contact with your old friends and you can find them too. For instance, I contacted my friends on facebook from elementary. This is really special to me because my friends are the ones who made me into the way I am and I always would need them to be by my side.

I also realized that there were times where some facebook people are younger than they are suppose to be in order to have a facebook. This is one of the bad things about facebook because young ones can meet other people on facebook that they don’t know which cause them to have danger. Talking to people that you don’t’ know on facebook is like talking to someone that you don’t know in the streets.