And mothers are their daughters' role model, their biological and emotional road map, the arbiter of all their relationships. ~Victoria Secunda

I want my Mom to know that no matter what, I will always love her. I will always love her, and not just because she is my Mom. I believe that a Mom should not only be a Mom, but also a best friend and role model. My Mom is even more than that to me, she is my hero. I have always told her that she is my hero, and she is very well deserving of this title. She has been through so much in her life, and i am sure there's things I don't even know about. All of that is beside the point however, her being my hero has to do with what she has been through, how good of a mother she is, and who she is today. Even though she has been through a lot, she is a very great person today and continues to be. She would do anything and everything for somebody that needed help. She has always been that way, my Aunt is like that too. I believe its just the way they live their lives. Nobody is perfect, but they sure do all they can for the world. My Mom is a great person, not only to the world but to me. I hope when i grow up, that im at least half the woman that she is. One day when I have kids, I want to be their hero, just as my Mom is mine. We have had our struggles but I would say its just normal teenage daughter- mother issues. At the end of the day, we get past those and we have a good relationship. Last week I had my senior photo shoot. It was kind of bittersweet, but yet scary at the same time. The photo shoot went great but the thought of growing up kind of scares me. I'm really glad that my Mom and Aunt tagged along on my photo shoot with me and Amy Scott from RAARS Photography, Amy is a great photographer and im glad they got to share this great experience with me. The photo shoot really got me thinking about life though. Im going to be 18 in three short weeks. I will be "grown", that's scary. A lot of times us kids will talk about wanting to move out, and go away to college. As much as I want to do that, its scary, growing up is scary. I don't ever want to lose the relationship I have with my Mom, and we need to do more things like the photo shoot together so we don't lose our relationship. As we all grow up, we drift apart. You should never drift apart from you're hero....thanks for everything Mom. You truly are my hero.<3 Love you:)

Feel free to check out my Moms blog post about me on her blog.

This week in the google reader world

I was actually very surprised when i logged into my google account and saw all the useful information on it. I was beginning to think that I wouldn't have much to write on this blog post because I wasn't finding much useful information. Yahoo answers has actually been helpful and its nice to see different peoples opinion on racism and if it will always be around. I read something this week that really opened up my eyes about racism. A couple people on yahoo answers said some very insightful things this week. One of those was " Racism will always exist, and not, as the black nation says because of white people, but because all people are different." Its true, everyone is their own person and we are all very different people. Until the world accepts the fact that everyone is different then racism will exist. Another thing that i found insightful was, "So eliminating those who do not fit the ideal race profile will "fix" the issue. The problem is that racism even thou a matter of color is more of matter of discrimination. So even if we "fix" the race issue people will find something else to discriminate about (i.e. hair color, eye color, nose shape, height, nationality, etc)." This statement was very powerful to me and made me think about racism as a whole, a lot. There is no way to fix racism because a big part of racism is discrimination. Discrimination will always exist because someone will always have something to discriminate about. Unfortunately that's just how our society is and probably always will be. I didn't find much on breast cancer and its causes this week, but im going to look into it more for my next blog post.

Inquiry...

My Personal Inquiry Questions:
1) Will racism always exist?
2) What causes breast cancer?

Racism is something that, for as long as I can remember, has been around. Its all around you and you can never escape it. No matter where you live, racism exists there in one way or another. Many strides have been made since slavery days, as far as racism and prejudice, but they both still exist. I grew up in a small town in the middle of no where with not much diversity, but there was A LOT of racism there. It seems quite ironic that such a place has more racism then Urbana does. There is a lot more diversity here in Urbana then there is but yet the level of racism is much lower? Its actually quite intriguing to me. I would hope that eventually racism will be something of the past, seen in history text books. Racism is something I want to research and learn more about. Racism could eventually be ended, but like world peace, it will probaby never be achieved.

What causes breast cancer? Im sure a lot of people would like to know the answer to this question. I sure do. I've heard that many things can cause breast cancer but I don't know how much of it's true and how much of it's fiction. I personally want some answers and to see other peoples take on the subject. Blogs are a great research tool to see others take on the subject of breast cancer and its many causes. Hopefully, breast cancer will have a cure one day. A couple of my close relatives, my Mom and Grandma, have both had breast cancer. Luckily, they are both survivors!

Breast Cancer Be Damned: This is actually my Moms personal blog that she started after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. A lot of what she writes is about life and her struggles with breast cancer. However, some of what she has wrote is about breast cancer and its many causes.

Yahoo Answers: On yahoo answers individuals ask their inquiry questions and others give their opinions on the topic and question.

Debate It Out: On debateitout.com individuals do just that, they debate about a topic and all give their opinion on the topic. This particular link is talking about racism.

Resist Racism: This site has different peoples views on racism and a lot of people talk about ways to resist getting involved in racism.

Dr. Lens Cancer Blog: Dr. Lens discusses many different types of cancers and they're causes. He discusses new findings in cancer research as well.

Pink vs. Purple

As many people know, October is breast cancer and domestic violence awareness month. Statistics show that 1 in 4 women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, and one in eight women will be diagnosed with some form of breast cancer. I don't believe that either breast cancer or domestic violence are more important than the other. It seems somewhat strange to me that during October, you see A LOT more pink than purple. Breast cancer awareness has more backing then domestic violence awareness does. But if they're both of the same importance then why is this? Breast cancer awareness is backed by many organizations and corporations. There is a lot of events that donate their proceeds to breast cancer research, such as benefit concerts and volley for the cure games. You don't see many events that benefit domestic violence prevention however. It always seems to me like breast cancer awareness over powers domestic violence awareness due to the publicity and sponsorship. With all of the publicity and hype around breast cancer awareness, domestic violence prevention is over shadowed. Domestic violence awareness doesn't receive the justice it deserves due to it being in the same month as breast cancer awareness. If the two were in different months, domestic violence prevention would receive the justice it deserves. When you look around, during the month of October, you will see pink billboards, pink shirts, pink water bottles, etc. I'm sad to say however, very rarely will you see a purple billboard, purple shirt, purple water bottle, etc. Myself and my family are all very passionate about both breast cancer awareness and domestic violence awareness. My Mom has worked in the domestic violence field for over 20 years, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a year ago. My Grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer about a year ago as well. I'm sure everyone knows someone that has or had breast cancer, and that was a victim of domestic violence. Many times domestic violence awareness is looked over during the month of October, and it deserves more justice then what it is getting. 

Life and Death....

One of my favorite quotes ever is,"Live life to the fullest." A lot of people take life for granted and don't realize how great life really is. Everybody goes through struggles, but that's just a normal part of everyday life. Its really easy to go day by day taking advantage of the fact that we are here. A lot of times, people don't realize how valuable life is until a tragedy happens. Its true that you should never judge a person before you've walked a mile in their shoes. It seems to me as if a lot of bad things have happened to me and my family over these last 18 years. There have been accidents, deaths, disease, and much more. The bad things that have happened that really stick out to me would be my Dads accident, cancer, and deaths. In July 2005 my Dad had a motorcycle accident. He was in a coma for 14 days and spent 3 months total in the hospital. He now suffers from brain damage and can't work. To this day, this tragedy still affects me. Just over a year ago, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and a couple months after that my Grandma was too. Luckily both of them are survivors and are still alive and well. Deaths aren't something that are very common in my family, that is up until almost two years ago. In March 2009 my Great Grandma, on my Moms side, died at the age of 94 i believe. It was very much out of the blue and unexpected. Even though we didn't really have a good relationship its still sad that shes gone. The saddest part would probably be that now we cant ever have a good relationship. In that same year, on my birthday actually, my Grandma on my Dads side, passed away as well. This came out of the blue as well, and especially on my 16th birthday. I hadn't really seen her in a long time but deaths are always sad. Losing family is never easy, but when you haven't seen someone in a while, i feel its just that much harder. My family seemed really insensitive and fought over a lot of her stuff. It was all really childish and quite frankly sad. Through all the things that have happened in my life, it has been sad but at  the same time made me the person I am today. Without having all these tragedies happen, i wouldn't be as strong as i am today:)

Power Wheel Activity

For the Socratic Seminar this week we looked at the power wheel and had questions to respond to about the wheel.

Power Wheel Activity
a. Identify where you fit in all of the areas on the wheel
b. What do these aspects of our identities reveal about us?
    What do they not say about who we are?
    To what extent do they matter at school?
    To what extent do they matter outside of school?

Identify where you fit in all of the areas on the wheel
Gender: Women
Race: European-Anglo Americans
Class: Rich, Poor, Educated
Ability: Able
Language: English
Appearance: Young
Sexuality: Heterosexual

What do these aspects of our identities reveal about us?
All of these aspects of our identities reveal how society views us. Society either puts in one category or the other, either your marginalized or your not. With this power wheel and society in general there is no gray area, just an area of black and white (figuratively speaking). Everything is either one way or the other.

What do they not say about who we are?
These aspects have nothing to do about who we are as individuals. The wheel groups us up by a lot of things that have little to do with the people we are. Just because an individual is of color and i'm not doesn't mean that i am any better or worse then they are. This same thing goes for ability, class, gender, and all of the other categories in the wheel. I don't think a wheel should define a person and what they are about.

To what extent do they matter at school?
I don't think any of these categories on the wheel should matter in school, unfortunately, it seems as if they do. Many teachers, administrators, and students alike see people not as individuals but as a group defined by such a wheel. Its kind of sad that we all can't be our own person, and are defined by where we came from, what we prefer, or how we look. In a place such as school, every one should be able to be their own person and not be limited by our identity and how others see us.

To what extent do they matter outside of school?
I feel the same way about this question as I do the one before. The aspects defined on the power wheel shouldn't matter outside or inside of school but they do.

Who is smart?

To me, everyone is smart in their own personal way. A lot of the time, school glamorizes being "book smart". Not being "book smart" doesn't make you not smart, or dumb. Someone who isn't great at school might be great in a sport or at performing plays. Being sports literate or play literate is being smart. In school, those types of literacies and many others aren't touched on very much or even seen as important. Even for good athletes they say school is first, hence student athlete. School is not a place where everyone can learn to their best ability. Not everyone is a factory model and can learn in setting as such. Lots of people think being able to read a book is being literate or smart, which it is, but its not the only form of literacy. Since schools are set in these ways, to glamorize reading and writing, it alienates certain people. Just because a kid isn't superb at reading or writing, doesn't mean they aren't smart, but a lot of times kids get that kind of vibe. This type of factory learning teaches kids to conform to society and not transform it. In school, learning should be more relaxed and not so much like a factory. In doing so, it would make more kids realize that they aren't dumb, but yet they are smart. Being reading or writing literate or not doesn't decide if your smart or not. Reading and writing literacy can make someone smart, but it cant make someone dumb. Just because you aren't very good at something doesn't make you dumb, after all we are ALL smart in our own ways!:)

Catholic Charities Not Giving Up

For my personal blog post this week, I went looking for a current news story that I could passionately talk about. I went on illinoishomepage.net to look for a news story, and came across this one: Catholic Charities Not Giving Up.Catholic Charities provides professional, compassionate services to all persons touched by adoption, including birth parents, adoptive parents, adopted persons, as well as other extended members of these families. In 2008, Catholic Charities helped build families by bringing 23 children together with loving families through their adoption programs. (Source: http://www.cc.dio.org/programs.htm) Catholic Charities' contracts have said to be cancelled by the state. They have recently appealed the states decision but were unsuccessful. They said they plan to appeal again. The agency as a whole, works with more than 2,200 children, all of which would have to be moved to other adoption agencies. Many foster parents, disagree with this move and think it would be nothing but bad news. Loss of the contracts not only affects the children, but foster parents, family of those foster children, and the people that work with those foster children. The state of Illinois is not looking out for the children's best interest, but yet the best interest of the state politicians and officials. The politicians and state officials will cut the budget anywhere and everywhere, and at the cost of anybody except themselves. It's sad that they are cutting the budget in places like education, children services, public health, domestic violence prevention, etc. The states budget could be cut in more appropriate places, in order to help save programs such as Catholic Charities.

What meaning do sports have in my life?

Sports are pure entertainment to me. Playing sports and watching sports can be not only entertainment but fun. People enjoy watching and playing sports. A big part of sports would be to choose a favorite team. Choosing a favorite team gives someone something to look forward to. When your favorite team is on, you might take time to tune into the game. Choosing a favorite team isn't just about following them, but it gives you a social out-lit. Talking with your friends and peers about sports can go on for hours and hours. Sports are very easy to follow if you have a favorite team. For me however, I do have favorite teams, but I see sports more as entertainment.

10 Things Kyle Said...

1. Relationships between sports and literacy in adolescent black males in Detroit
2. Trash Talkin
3. Ebonics is legit, Geneva Smitherman (A.K.A. Dr.G) even wrote a book about it.
4. Hip-Hop and Sports are closely related
5. Self-expression
6. Stereo-typing
7. Lyrics (w/sports)
8. Expanding Literacy
9.Sports are not simply for social and upward mobility
10. Oppressed people assert their artistic, creative expression in the world

H.O.P.E.

Just the term simply put, HOPE, has a lot of different meanings. When you search hope even two or three different definitions come up. Hope to every individual person can be different. Every person goes through individual struggles and situations that can define who they are and how they see things. I decided to search hope and I found two definitions that I see fit for the word. Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope can also be defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Hope is associated with many different situations and things as well. It is seen all over the place. A lot of times people will associate hope with breast cancer. Some colleges and churches have the word hope in their names as well. Obama's slogan for his 2008 presidential campaign was even hope. Hope is a part of everyday life and lots of stuff around us. It's not a term that should be taken lightly. Whether its un-consciously or even consciously happening, every person has hope in some form or another. We, as individuals, hope to achieve something, gain something, do something, accomplish something, etc. Hope can be as simple as hoping to get the iPhone 5 when it come out, or as complex as hoping to live. Many people wouldn't get through a family tragedy, a test, a day at school or work, a disease or illness, and even life without hope. I personally would associate hope with breast cancer, because my Mom and Grandma were both diagnosed with breast cancer within 6 months of each other. Fortunately they are both survivors and can live to tell their stories, but not without hope. I believe they survived cancer because of the simple yet complex word called HOPE. Once i turn 18, i want to get a tattoo that involves a breast cancer ribbon and hope. After all, without hope a lot of us would not be where we are today.

Memorable Teachers Through The Years

Over the years, I've had many teachers and a few of them have been memorable to me. The first memorable teacher I ever had was my kindergarten teacher, Mrs.Stoner. She was the most loving, caring woman I have ever met. She was very hands-on with her students and always made class fun, even when we were learning. We didn't have desks in our classrooms we had tables, and we always had new name tags every week. They were always colorful and bright. I loved going to school everyday when i was in kindergarten, just for the simple fact that she made it so much fun. The second teacher I had that was very memorable, was my second grade teacher Mrs.Episcopo. Just like my kindergarten teacher, she made learning fun. Her classroom was probably the most interesting classroom I have ever been in. I can't really describe it, but the way it was set up was just interesting and made learning that much better. Mrs.Episcopo also was the teacher that figured out i needed glasses. She could tell I was squinting at the board, and contacted my Mom about it. Unfortunately, she has since passed but she will forever be in my heart. The last and final teacher that has really touched me so far in my school career, was my co-english teacher freshman year, Ms.Gerling. She was only my teacher freshman year, but we have stayed in contact since. She is the definition of what a teacher should be. She has helped me through so much even after I wasn't in her class anymore. Shes one of the few UHS teachers that have really helped me grow not only academically but in life in general. The world needs more people like her!

I am.....

One day during literature and composition class all of the students were instructed to choose between two writing prompts, and complete it on a piece of notebook paper. We could choose to either write our own I Am poem or describe with excruciating sensory detail your favorite room in your place of residence. I choose to write my own I Am poem. My poem is as follows:

I am lovable and caring.
I wonder why life is the way it is.
I hear every persons thoughts.
I see love all around me.
I want to be all that I can be.
I am lovable and caring.
I pretend life is perfect.
I feel the world is at peace.
I touch love.
I worry about my family.
I cry about my grandma's death.
I am lovable and caring.
I understand the world will never be at peace.
I say live life to the fullest.
I dream about achieving all my goals.
I try to be the best i can be everyday.
I hope to be successful in life.
I am lovable and caring.

It is usually hard for me to write poetry when it is assigned, especially on a certain topic. This poem however was super easy for me to write. As soon as i got the assignment, i started writing and the words just flowed. This was a great assignment that really got my creativity flowing, because it was my choice on what i wanted to write but yet still had structure to it. All classes need more assignments like this!

My personal reflection on the extent to which my family gets involved or feels welcome at school.

Family involvement in school is something that is seen a lot more with younger children. When I was in grade school and even middle school my family was way more involved then what they are now. I can remember my Mom coming to school for all of the parties on holidays in grade school. We always made crafts, played games, dressed up, and just had fun. My Mom was even a junior achievement instructor back  when i was in 5th grade. Life was just so much different back then. I don't see my family not being as involved so much as a lack in my families interest, but more as my dis-interest. Once children get into high school they feel a sense of independence and don't really want their parents to be as involved. Parents like to give their children more responsibilities, and in doing so they give them more independence in school. After high school, when children become adults thy go on to college or their desired career and take on responsibilities. High school is just a steeping stone towards college or a career and children should gain responsibility during high school in order to prepare them. Once children get into high school and sometimes middle school, not as much goes on in school that parents can get involved with. Some parents may still come to school events such as open house and parent-teacher conferences but not as often as in the younger years. If a child plays a sport or is involved in an extra curricular activity, a parent might be more involved in school because of this. I can remember back in middle school and freshman year, when i played volleyball, my parents were very involved in school and came to every game i ever had, no matter what. Playing a sport or being in drama club, for instance, always gives parents another way to get more involved in school. Once i got into high school, my Mom and i joined PTSA, but i have dropped out since then. Being in PTSA was more or less a joke to me. My Mom is still involved in it, but I don't see it as useful for me to be in it. If more organizations were more involved in school and more successful, it might drive more parents to get involved. In the end, family involvement in school depends on a lot of factors and varies drastically from family to family. It can depend on the children, parents, other family members, and how much they are all willing to get involved!

Both Sides of the YA Fiction Argument

There has been an on-going argument in the literature world about YA Fiction. Sherman Alexie and Meghan Cox Gourdon both wrote articles addressing this argument. They have opposing views on this argument. 

Meghan Cox Gurdon wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal  titled Darkness To Visible. Gurdon states in her article that she feels young adult fiction nowadays is too dark for its audience. "How dark is contemporary fiction for teens? Darker than when you were a child, my dear: So dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part o the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking, at children from the ages of 12 to 18." She feels that books are sending the wrong message to today's teens. There are parental warnings on movies, why not books? In Gurdons article, she states the counterpoint of her argument. She quotes an editor on his outlook on the argument, which is very different from hers.

Sherman Alexie also wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal, his article was titled Why the Best Books Are Written in Blood. Alexie has the opposing view of Gurdon. In his article, Alexie discusses Gurdons article and views. Sherman Alexie knows about addiction and mental illness firsthand. Some authors of young adult fiction, such as Sherman Alexie, write as if they were writing to their younger selves. Cultural critics are "simply trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature is and should be. They are trying to protect privileged children. Or the seemingly privileged." When Alexie read as a child, he got into his books as if he was there.

My own experience with young adult fiction is nothing like described in Gurdon's article. Gurdon feels it is dark and un-realistic, but it seems more to be realistic. Young adult fiction is about everyday life and things that teens go through on a day to day basis. Young adult fiction should not be seen as gruesome or dark just because suicide, sex, drugs, alcohol, self-hurt, etc. are mention in them. All of these things and many more are things that young adults go through each and every day.

If I was to choose a side of this argument, i would most definitely choose the side that Sherman Alexie is on. Alexie writes about everyday tragedies and life of young adults. Gurdon sees writing such as Alexie's and other young adult authors as gruesome and dark but i would strongly disagree. I would say Alexie and other such authors write about day-to-day life and tragedies that a lot of young adults face today and every day of their lives. I also feel that Gurdon's view on what age group reads young adult fiction is wrong. She sees the age range as being 12-18 years of age. I would say young adult fiction is more for the age range of 15-21 years of age. Twelve and thirteen year olds shouldn't be reading some of what is in many young adult fiction books, because they weren't written for them to read anyway.

This I Believe-Pennies From Heaven

I chose the essay Pennies From Heaven. I loved the essay as a whole, but my favorite part would have to be:

"We all watched as she deteriorated over a long, agonizing six months in and out of surgery and chemotherapy—without a complaint or a hint of self-pity. She finally succumbed one evening just before midnight in a home she loved—surrounded by her friends and family."

This talks about the hardships that Linda and he family went through while she was battling cancer. Even though she had cancer and knew her days were limited she still lived life without a complaint or a hint of self-pity. It seemed as if she didn't want people to feel sorry for her and she didn't feel sorry for herself. Linda unfortunately ended up passing away, but she was surrounded by people she loved, her friends and family.


This essay really touched me when i read it. I had read a couple of essays before this one, but i was looking for one that i could either relate to or that touched me. This essay accomplished both of these things. Cancer is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I've had a couple of family members battle cancer throughout their lives. When i was probably one or two my uncle died from skin cancer. I didn't know him very well, but it still affects me today because i never had a chance to meet him or have a relationship with him. About two years ago, September 2009, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, and had to have a mastectomy in October 2009. After her surgery, she had to go through six months of chemotherapy. Fortunately, she is in remission now and is on cancer medicine. Approximately three or four months after my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, my grandma was too. She also had a mastectomy but she didn't have to go through radiation or chemotherapy. Since they have had cancer, my Mom and Grandma both are very involved with breast cancer awareness. When my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer she actually started her own blog called Breast Cancer be damned.