Kayla's Corner

People are like dominoes, they will stay the way they are until someone pushes them to change. Dominoes will only fall if something makes them. A lot of times people are unable to change on their own. Its not because they're physically incapable, but rather that they cannot see that what they are doing needs to be fixed. They are to caught up in themselves as humans naturally are. They need someone to give them a wake up call or intervention so they can finally realize what they are doing needs to cease to continue. Toni Morrison illustrates this through Milkman's conversation with Lena. Milkman is so used to thinking the world revolves around himself that he can't see how his actions are affecting others negatively. Lena provides the much needed wake up call by enlightening him on the many reasons he has caused pain for everyone in his life and why he needs to straighten up. She shares with him how his whole life everything has been done for him. "When you slept, we w...

Sometimes I feel like people don’t realize everything the slaves helped America accomplish. At least I never fully understood the extent they contributed to making America what it is today. When reading the article,   The sugar that saturates the American diet has a barbaric history as the ‘white gold’ that fueled slavery ,  in class I was shocked to learn that the labor the slaves put in caused the economy to grow exponentially due to the selling of sugar, which ”America provided for 1/4 of the worlds sugar”(Muhammad), and cotton. If it weren’t for the slaves, America would not be using the products to the abundance it does today, and the market would not be where it’s currently at. Although I think we would have still used the products today by getting them one way or another whether it was through imports or doing the labor ourselves, I think the quantity would be no where near what we have now. It wasn’t all the rich white men who made America what it is today, although th...

Everyday I see articles and stories in the news, and almost everyone has images attached. When I see the photos they look real to me, and I tend to believe what they are showing me. That's their purpose after all. To persuade people to think a certain way. But how am I supposed to know if they are real?! Technology is so advanced that "photographs can be tampered with"(source D) and people won't be able to tell. Recently, news outlets have been using fake photos to persuaded people to believe false things. It caused a huge uproar when people learned that the images were not real. The truth was uncovered this time but most of the time it isn't. How many times out of ten is the public being shown fake images by the media. Images are supposed to persuade people to take action to prevent events from happening in the future, but how are people supposed to know that what they are trying to stop from occurring is actually real. The truth is that everything is so politica...

    Over the course of the comic book/novel , Maus, there was a recurring motif of saving. Vladek always wanted to save as much as possible. He would try to save his money, food, and everyday things like matches. While reading the passages, it could be inferred that Vladek's need to save sprouted from his experience during the Holocaust. During that time it was never known when the next meal would come or when the necessary supplies could be gotten.      In one particular series of panels on page 78, Vladek tries to give Art all of Mala's leftover food that he will not eat. Vladek does not want to waste anything. Vladek states, "Ever since Hitler I don't like to throw out even a crumb"(Spiegelman 78). He then proceeds to return the half eaten food so it doesn't go to waste. In this section, readers can see the full extent of how the holocaust has changed Vladek. He goes to great lengths to save anything and everything. He repeatedly tries to persuade his son ...

I just don’t understand. From the very beginning we were always taught to write essays a certain way. The standard five paragraphs : intro, 3 body paragraphs, and conclusion with absolutely no I’s and you’s. First person was always forbidden. I spent a solid 4 years of my life trying to conform to the ”only acceptable way of writing”. So many late nights were spent revising essays. Normally, I was frustrated and on the verge of tears because I just wanted to go to bed as my mom tried to explain to me for the 100th time that I was not allowed to use I’s and you’s. I think it took me all the way until freshman year to finally not use first person in my essays. I swear teachers told us that the essays we were being taught to write would be the same all the way through college. But lo and behold, this week we were told to write an essay that not not only didn’t need five paragraphs but also could be written in, yep you’ve guessed it, FIRST person.   Why would  teachers be so ...

     Picture this. You are laying in your bed, the blankets tucked right up under your chin. You are warm and cozy, as you dream of fields of flowers. Suddenly, music begins to play. You turn over to see where the music is coming from, and instead of seeing the beautiful roses, its your alarm clock, flashing 6:30 am. You reach over to turn off the song that you use to love but now despise because every time you hear it, you remember the worst part of your day: waking up for school.       Everyday is the same: wake up at an unhealthy time, go to school for seven hours, go home, and repeat. I have to admit school is not terrible. The worst part is getting up at the crack of dawn. I don't think anyone likes to get up that early. So why don't we change it? Why cant we start school an hour later?       Fellow students, we need to band together to bring upon change. The only way to show how we truly feel is by taking action. Thoreau states, "I sa...

    As a student, I have never been one to listen intently for the whole class period. My mind is either wandering or I am doodling on something I probably shouldn't be. I spend most of my time trying to listen, but to no avail I end up thinking about other things. I have always thought that it was impossible to make myself pay attention and think about what is being taught at the moment. While reading This Is Water, the author, David Wallace, explained that "its extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head"(Wallace 234). It is very hard for me to concentrate, but the author did say that you can teach yourself how to think. Although it is very difficult to do because getting lost inside your own head is automatic, it is possible.       Prior to reading this, I did not realize one could train them self to think about what was necessary, and I feel others may not either. As so many p...