G a r c i a | 1

Para Mam





















Y Leslee
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... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel
like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's
about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then
it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single
moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But
don't worry... you will someday. ~ Lester Burnham, American Beauty (1999)










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Table of Contents
Dedication....1
Table of Contents...........................................................................................................3
Reflection Letter: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.4
Baseline Essay: XX.9
Community Leadership Essay: Overcoming the deafening silence...11
Autobiographical Essay: A Dads Life..16
Literary Analysis Essay: Reading a Picture21
Issue/Commentary Essay: Unrealistically Real.23
Wild Card: A Scrutinized Poem..26
Wild Card: Bears Final Itch..29



G a r c i a | 4




The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It always amazes me to see that when reminiscing the happy memories our class
has, the emotions suddenly flood out of everyone as if they have been waiting, patiently,
for the bipolar change from worry about what G is going to make us do today to a relief
of joy when we see hes actually in a good mood. At times like these, it reminds all of us
of all the memories we have with each other, and unfortunately how soon we will have
less of these moments going into the next year. Ive spent such a long time with this
class that when in a room full of strangers I will always be able to find someone from my
class even if we didnt talk as much just because they are in Puente.
These past two years together weve seen each other grow, everyone has seen
everyone evolve, change, at their best, and at their worst. Despite this class not being
the best academically, in my opinion we are the truest familia of them all. We have
every aspect of a family, to the biggest fights, to the joyest moments of them all. What
Ive learned is that our class no matter how bad the moment, we can always find
happiness. Like that one time we almost died on the bus to from St. Marys, other
classes were actually crying while others was making the best of it! Were just a bunch
of happy people with not-so happy grades.
This class in fact, was the class that made me realize that the key to ding great in
classes is to just do the work, simple as that. That trying not to do the work just makes
your life a hell of a lot more complicated than it needs to be. It was the beginning of
sophomore year and I was already starting of bad. I did only half of my summer
assignment and I had and F already. At that moment I was tired of lectures and it was
all go through one ear and out the other. I didnt know why I didnt finish the summer
assignment, I read the whole book which was the longest one we have read in Puente.
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In fact it was my favorite book that we have read so far. Then it hit me, that school is
just based on work ethic and it is the only way I will be able to do something with my life.
Why? Why does this whole experience about having a good time with your class
even matter? It took me a while to answer such a simple question and I was even
beginning to feel kind of dumb not knowing the answer that was actually staring right in
front of me. The raw emotion, gives me hope, and with this hope I continue. I continue
with this hope academically, it helps me keep going and makes it a little easier to cope
with high school.
Without this hope, this environment filed with raw emotion and happiness one will
not be able to do as well as one wants too. My school is notably doing poorly
academically, and I see how easy it is to want to give up seeing all these lifeless
students in one class not hearing a word the teacher is saying, well it would make
almost everyone want to give up. Adding emotion instead of a lifeless, passionless
lecture about the square root of nine wakes everyone up. We need this happiness, this
safe environment to learn and bloom into intelligent young adults.
Growing up I read many books between the ages 10-13. I loved writing my
passion for it was great and in both my English classes in 7
th
and 8
th
grade my writing
was loved by my teachers. Then a change happened in 9
th
grade. I never had any time
to read books I wanted to read and I never had time to write pieces I wanted to write.
Thus my love of English disappeared, my writing was no longer loved my teachers and I
was surrounded by so many who were much better writers than me and my confidence
level plummeted. Ive learned that without confidence you cant do anything, proof of
this is also the sport I have a big passion for which is soccer has also proven this to me.
By the end of sophomore year I realized that I should stop being so stubborn because
its not a topic I like doesnt mean I shouldnt just give up so easily and write a boring
paper. College is going to be this way so I should get used to it. Once this realization
happened my writing improved and my confidence level is slowly getting better. Even
though the assignment isnt a free write I now am going back to the habit of enjoying
writing no matter the topic.
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Ive always been into writing something about fantasy to get me away from
reality, same thing with books. It is when I blossom the most and what gets me the best
grades. I can write under pressure, but rarely and if its about a topic I understand. But I
write my best when its something that isnt a big deal and isnt timed. My writing
thoughts just flow through my hand and onto the paper. Which is why my Maus essay in
this portfolio is my favorite. I found the Holocaust quite interesting, and writing the
analysis for the book was something I surprisingly enjoyed because I have never
enjoyed writing an analysis piece. To me it was my best to others they might disagree
but I liked the way I wrote that paper. Writing is a complicated sport that opens many
doors in something we call life. It develops many skills and many dont see its
importance, but I do.
Reading my baseline the first time, I was very critical of myself, I felt there wasnt
much improvement. But as I began to reread it again, I began to slowly see the
improvement, and the writing began to actually look kind of alien to me. Like I knew it
was my writing, but it sounded a lot blander and the ideas I was trying to present
werent very clear, yknow what Im sayin? Im proud to say that I have improved, that
despite all the hardship I have endured, I can at least say that I am a better writer. Just
saying this, I can also say I am more confident, which is something I have been
struggling to improve. My way of thinking, my way of tying complex ideas in a single
paragraph has improved greatly. Hopefully Im more interesting which by the way my
baseline is such a yawn so I think I can now identify when my writing is bland. Concrete
details were pretty hard for me to choose. I struggles to weave my ideas together and
make it flow better. Id just drop a CD like its hot and just repeat what the CD is saying.
Also I was surprised to see how short it was, yea it was two pages front and back, but I
skipped lines! I would kill to have that back. Today if I were to do that Id have essays up
to eight pages, so I guess I can say Ive improved a lot.
Even though Im pretty critical of my writing, its nice to know that Ive improved at
least a little bit. For example, I dont just use one or two CDs, I use at least three with a
heft amount of commentary. But like every writer I have my flaws. Ive struggles since
freshman ear to write a literary analysis that I actually lie. They take me years to write
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because I focus a lot on my whole breaking down process, like connecting an idea from
the book to an idea in real life. When I start an essay I know what I have to write, I know
what Im talking about but its getting my thoughts onto the page that I struggle with the
most. I get writers block a lot and I send more time thinking about how I should explain
an idea than typing. Also sometimes I get lost in my writing, I begin to get off topic a lot
and I have to constantly repeat the question or objective Im writing about to get back on
track. Despite all of this, writing is still something I work very hard on, every time I get
the chance to write I try to improve, even though I know it sucks I try to put all my heart
into it.
Freshman year I thought I experienced everything academically, but man was I
wrong. Sophomore year hit me like a tidal wave and I could barely get back up. There
was twice the homework and responsibility. Then my biggest realization hit me, like an
epiphany, while I was taking a shower were all my deep thinking happens. Things dont
get better, school never gets easier, and you just learn to cope with it better. That was
when I started doing better academically, especially in writing. I stopped worrying so
much about how bad my writing was and I just wrote, I learned to push through the
boring topics and complex excerpts we were supposed to write about.
Writing, even though I dont like admitting it, is a big part of my life now. It always
has been, but more now that I write at least two essays a week. Before Id only write to
express my feelings, but its a lot more now. Writing evolves, it can kill, play with
emotion and I find that fascinating; writing can have human characteristics even though
its just words on paper it can affect your life in a very big way. It can get you into a
college, and hopefully by the time Im a senior Ill be a lot better too so I can use it to go
to college. I want people to be able to feel what I feel when reading my writing. To think
what Im thinking, and to hear my voice in their head. I want people to see the world
through my eyes and walk in my skin while reading my writing. I want my identity t
manifest itself in front of their very eyes! I want them to cry, laugh, and even get angry
at me. Hopefully someday I can be a master at this.
I know I have much work ahead of me, and to accomplish what I just said Ill
need to keep on writing. Complete homework, and even write on the side if I can. I know
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what I must do from here. In the future I see myself writing elegant pieces, even for the
smallest things like birthday card, to the biggest things like signing up for a prestige
college to get my PhD. I see writing getting me to many places I want to be, and
opening opportunities I didnt know would open because of my writing.



















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Overcoming the Deafening Silence

Its a seven minute walk, but it felt as if I have been walking forever. I was
walking in darkness, under the dead street lights that havent been working for years.
There was an eerie silence, making any other sound, a cough, the bark of a dog, boom
in my ears. Theres just something about the light that brings a blanket of security that
makes everything a lot less scary. Walking down my own street, youd expect me to feel
comfortable enough to walk to the Walgreens right down the block, but doing anything
in darkness brings paranoia making this walk last a life-time.
Its a modern country, so why is it that we still have neighborhoods filled with
darkness instead of neighborhoods like from Piedmont filled with light coming from
expensive street lights and still thriving with life even at night? Having neighborhoods
filled with darkness increases the crime rate and also decreases its value. Walking
down my street, you see lights older than your grandmother, some that havent worked
for years, if it werent for the lights from the houses the street would be almost
completely dark. Lights are needed to improve the quality of living in that certain
neighborhood. Not only does it do that, but it also just beautifies the neighborhood
making it seem friendlier and have less people judge our neighborhood by the way it
looks. Doing this will bring pride to our community, little things like this does make a
difference because by now we should have basic things like lights in our neighborhood
fixed.
Complain, complain, and more complaining to friends and families wont get you
anywhere until you take action. The action here is to go to the city hall of Hayward, and
ask for it, multiple times if you have to and you might get a petition like has happened in
previous times in my neighborhood. My neighborhood is slowly, but surely evolving into
a better neighborhood. Not too long ago one of the people who reside on me street
went to city hall and asked to get speed bumps because at night cars would race up
and down our street which is actually very dangerous if anything were to go wrong.
Everyone signed the petition and sure enough we got speed bumps, which didnt even
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take too long to put on the street. This shows that when someone takes action, it is
possible to get a change in your community. Especially since its the citys job to provide
us with simple things like speed bumps, even though they dont seem too important they
can make big difference changing the environment in a good way making it friendlier.
In a research report by David P. Farrington and Brandon C. Welsh titled Effects
of improved street lighting on crime: a systematic review, there is research done if the
crime rate really does go down or not. The first thing that I check was, is there any
negative affect to adding new lights to a neighborhood? The paper states that In short,
improved street lighting seems to have no negative effects and demonstrated benefits
for law-abiding citizens.(P.42) Adding lights had no negative effects which will therefore
remove any reasons why the city should not any lights. Then I looked for if adding lights
really did reduce crime, in the paper the writer clearly says that Depending on the
analysis of the crime problem, improved street lighting could often be implemented as a
feasible, inexpensive and effective method of reducing crime.(P.41) so not only is this
method reducing crime, it is inexpensive which for a city like Hayward, will be a lot more
persuasive to get the city to agree.
In another online article which was based on the research paper titled Effects of
Improved Street Lighting on Crime by Brandon C. Welsh, David P. Farrington where
lighting was also researched, it is discussed that Improved street lighting is thought to
affect crime in two ways: by increasing surveillance, thus deterring potential offenders,
and by signifying community investment and pride in an area.(The Campbell
Collaboration) Anybody can see better in light, which makes looking out for any threats
at night easier to see, which discourages crime to happen. Like previously stated,
getting improved street lights will make the rest of the community look better because
the community took its time to address the problem and thus signifies a strong
community. With a stronger community you have community cohesion and informal
social control, which may be protective against crime.(The Campbell Collaboration).
Not only does the adding of street lights alone reduce crime, we now have the
community acting more protective of their community which leads to people instead of
G a r c i a | 13

being bystanders they act and do something like reporting a crime they just saw instead
of ignoring it.
Another article that also talks about street lights takes a different approach than
the other two; safety for drivers. In the article Street Lighting and Road Safety by the
RoSPA (The Royal Society for the prevention of accidents) says that in A report by
SWOV (6) found that a 'relatively large proportion' of night-time accidents occur on unlit
road sections. It also found that 'there are modest indications that the average injury
severity and the proportion of accidents at bends is somewhat greater on unlit road
sections'.(RoSPA) There have been reports done which have proven that street that
are unlit does increase the percentage of you (the driver) and a pedestrian having an
accident and increasing the severity of it. The following quote addresses that Driving
outside of daylight hours is more dangerous only a quarter of all travel by car drivers
is between the hours of 7pm and 8am, yet this period accounts for 40% of fatal and
serious injuries to the same group (1). Pedestrians and vulnerable road users suffer
from decreased visibility in the dark too. For these reason, ways of reducing the risk to
all road users during the hours of darkness must be found.(RoSPA). Despite there
being more people on the streets in daylights, there are more accidents at night
because darkness worsens our vision which makes it a lot more likely for the driver,
other people in the car, and a pedestrian to get in an accident. This could be more proof
to the city that adding lights will not only improve the safety of those residing in the
neighborhood, but also the drivers that drive through the neighborhood.
Writing this essay, I wasnt just going to complain like I mentioned earlier in my
essay, I have had experience working for my community which has led me to meet
some very powerful people in my community who can help me have this change
happen. Ive volunteered in program called The Kids breakfast Club, where I spend my
breaks from school helping to feed free breakfasts at schools for free to anybody from
our community who needs it. This has greatly increased my experience doing
community service, which has developed my leadership skills as well. Also because of
the incident that happened about speed bumps that I mentioned earlier in my paper, I
G a r c i a | 14

can contact that man who is a friend of mine and get advice from him on his experience
when he went to the city hall to get the petition for the speed bumps.
In conclusion back to theme of change, in the future I would like to see a happier
community that is closer, and to be more prideful about it, because eventually this pride
will spread throughout other neighborhoods which will begin to change this citys name
into something more positive. Hayward cannot simply begin to evolve into a new better
city with just the help of the very few people at city hall, it will need the help of the
residents quietly residing in Hayward. Not much longer will we begin to realize that
being quite for your own self benefit will not help you at all in fact, but helping others not
only helps yourself but also the people around you, the community, the famila.

















G a r c i a | 15




Bibliography:
"Effects of improved street lighting on crime: a systematic review." https://keysso.net.
N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.
<https://keysso.net/community_news/May_2003/improved_lighting_study.pdf>.
"Improved street lighting can reduce crime : The Campbell Collaboration." Improved
street lighting can reduce crime : The Campbell Collaboration. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May
2014.
<http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/news_/improved_street_lighting_reduce_crime.p
hp>.

"Street Lighting and Road Safety." RoSPA Road Safety RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May
2014. <http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/adviceandinformation/highway/street-
lighting.aspx#refs>.












G a r c i a | 16



A Dads Life

Antonio Garcia was born in El Salvador, Canton El Potrero, which is in Illobasco
Cabanas, January 8 1972. A Canton is like a little village which usually only had 4
houses. Antonio worked with his grandfather at the age of 4. There wasn't much to do
there in his poor village so he would play soccer or hunt little animals like iguanas with
his cousins. You didn't need much to entertain a poor child. He helped milked the cows
with his grandfather and he got paid with about two cups of milk.
His grandfather would tell him that You need to learn how to work because the
people who don't work never succeed in life.
After 4 years of his life he began to work with his father, planting corn, beans,
and rice. And with that he began to work. After 2 years working like that his family finally
moved out of working at Canton El potrero, and moved to a different canton. He moved
during the night without transportation walking nearly 5 hours to the nearest Canton. His
family didn't have any sort of transportation at the time. All the kids had to carry their
own luggage, which was all they could carry on their small backs. He brought with
himself two love birds. Juan to this day loves birds and it he also just didn't want to
leave the birds. The name of the Canton which was close to the city was called
Quesera. His grandma was already waiting for them at her house.
And by living there he started a new life. And by the age of six he started going to
school starting 1
st
grade. His teachers name was Juanita.
Juanita would always say Learn as much as possible, to clean your nails, to do
your homework, not say any bad words, and not run around.
He had only one shirt and one pair of pants for school which is his mother made
for him. And he would go without shoes to school until he began to work with his uncle
just farming and his Uncle would pay him 5 cents a day which made one dollar a week.
And with that money he bought his first pair of shoes. He would work from seven in the
morning to 4 in the afternoon for only once cent. He only studied for four years and
G a r c i a | 17

nothing more. While working and going to school his father wouldn't like it that he went
to school and he would cry and pretend he was sick while at work, and then not go
home but go to school. His father would tell him that Youre not going to go to school
today because we have to much work.
Juan would cry. He loved school but to help his family he had not much of a
choice. And when his dad would look for Juan after work was over he wouldn't find Juan
he would ask everybody Where is Juan?
And they would tell him At school of course.
At the age of ten he wasn't at school anymore so he started working harder and
making more money. The maximum grade at his Canton was 4
th
grade and didn't have
money to go to school, which was an hour away walking distance. He would spend time
playing soccer, something he still enjoys today. At the age of 12 he decided to go to the
capital of El Salvador which was San Salvador, he left his family to go work there.
When he left the house he didn't have nowhere to go because the person who
was supposed to pick him up never showed. He slept on the streets for three days.
And while he was walking a man that knew him asked him Hey what are you
doing?
My father answered Looking for work. That Man found him a job to clean toilets,
that job lasted for 15 days, but then it closed. So he went home and worked with his
father again. By the age of 13 he left to the capital again to look for work because he
wanted to find work n the capital. He got a license for construction lying saying he was
actually 18. His friend Ramon found a landscaping job for him. And he worked there for
about four months. He went to his house only three times dropping of the money he
made. He lived with his friend Ramon in San Salvador in some apartments. But then his
friend Ramon found a girlfriend and the apartment was too small for the three of them
so he had to leave that apartment.
Donmiguelito was my Antonios friend he rented a house for him for free that he
owned. The house didn't have floor or a bed, and had many mosquitos, and because of
those harsh conditions he couldn't live there. So then once again he went back to the
Canton with his dad.
Going back there he started working again with his dad and mom. His family was
G a r c i a | 18

made up of 15 children that his mother had. And by that time he was already 14. One
day in 1988 while the civil war of El Salvador was still going the army was just grabbing
people and forcing them into war, they didn't care about age. He was working with his
uncle in 1988 and they took him to the army at the age of 15. He was actually very
happy to join the army. Being in the army back there where he lived was all what
teenagers like Juan wanted to be. It made them feel like men. His mom knew a
Sergeant in Illobasco and did something to take him out of the army base. When he was
recruited he got a haircut
The sergeant told him you are free to go out and your mother is waiting for you
But Antonio refused, he wanted to get a feeling of the army. So he stayed.
For three months he trained, after the three months he took something like an
oath or a juramentacion he joined a Batallon which is something like an infantry.
During those three months he did a lot of exercise, practicing their shooting and pretty
much learning the basics. He got no sleep and for dinner they would shoot birds to eat.
The instructions from their sergeant was tough, they had 3 minutes to take a shower
with 75 people by a well. They would beat him with a piece of wood just because they
could. It was terrible. When they were put into battle they had no idea what would
happen. If the gorillas would come and ambush them. And that's when they take you out
to battle, and he was a minor barley going to turn 16 and the minimum age was 18.
They told him that because he was 16 he had two choices to either stay for two
years, or take the release that they gave him and leave the army. The mayor found out
this happened because his auntie told them that they had a minor in the army, so the
mayor sent a letter to the army to release Antonio. Antonio accepted.
He went to his parents house but there was nothing for him there, so once again
he went to San Salvador. He asked a guy at some shoe store. Hey you hiring right
now? The owner of the store was named Jeremias, because he knew two of his
nephwes that worked in the store. Well Ill open a new store about a block away. But
his clothes weren't appropriate, so Jeremias nephews gave him two shirts to work with.
They were huge and Antonio being a small guy he had to tie it. So then he gave him a
job and he was paid about for two dollars a week. But once again he was faced with the
problem of where to live. Walking around in the street once again he sees his friend
G a r c i a | 19

Ramon again. What are you doing here?
He replied with I work with Jeremias in a shoe store
Ramon asked Where do you live?
Antonio answered with Nowhere. Ramon told him Come with me. So he goes
with Ramon to his Girlfriends house, they both have bought a new house so Antonio
lived there for about three months.
By that time it was already December. So when the job was over with Jeremias
because he got fired. He got fired because one of the nephews had a girlfriend and the
owner got mad that he never told him. Antonio was angry and left back to his parents
house.
Christmas day he went with his sister to his older sisters house, he danced and
had fun. When New Years arrived his mother was pregnant and had the baby on
January 1
st
. His little sister Sophia had a boyfriend at the time. And January 4
th
she was
helping his mother make the tortillas. And he went to go play soccer.
Sophia said Hey you want me to fix your shorts? He agreed and she fixed
them. He went to the field and a little later his younger brother came to him and told him
that
Hey they took Sophia to the hospitals.
But Sophia never made it to the hospital alive. And when his mom and father
came back to the house and told everybody the bad news.
Antonio felt horrible. During the funeral, the family spent the night there at her
grave. He felt sad because everybody else was about 2 years apart but him and her
where only a year apart which is why he felt closer to her. He felt so bad that he couldn't
stay in the house. His uncle Jose came all the way from the United States for the
funeral.
Antonio asked him Can I come back to you to the United States? Jose
answered with Yea of course I leave in about 2 weeks.
Antonio said Perfect.
During those two weeks he sold beans. So that he can make money to go to the
United States. With all of the frijoles he sold he made about 100$. But he needed about
300$, so he asked his grandma for 200$, and she agreed. That day he left the house he
G a r c i a | 20

said goodbye to his mom. He said Alright mom I'm leaving, and I will not be coming
back in two years like everybody else does, I don't know when I will be coming back.





















G a r c i a | 21

Reading a Picture

Maus is a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, it is based on his fathers
experiences through the Holocaust, and the author himself trying to understand his
father and even himself at times. Because the event was so serious and catastrophic on
mankind, much precaution is used when writing and painting about the subject as to not
disrespect the dead. But despite Maus being a graphic novel, it does not break any of
these unspoken rules even though there are moments of comedy and the author still
depicts the emotions that people went through in the animals faces throughout the
story. Even though the faces of animals do not really have much personality in them,
Spiegelman adds very significant details that portray the animals as humans.
Throughout the history of the Holocaust, everything that has been made that
includes anything about the Holocaust has been made with much caution because of
delicate the line is between what is appropriate and what isnt. But Spiegelmans book
Maus and many other Holocaust related, have some sort of comedy in it. Also his
drawings may seem inappropriate but the book is not mainly based on the Holocaust
and to understand it, but its to understand his father, the author himself, and his family
origins.
Comedy is there to make it more the novel more realistic and also to stress the
horrific situation they were in during the camps. He did not make anything up, he was
telling the truth that there were moments of comedy and it was to highlight how sadistic
the camps were and what people did, what they had to do to keep living, to find a
reason to keep on living after having lost everything. It is a very common to use laughter
to cope with something and to make it easier to deal with something. An example of
comedy used in the book is when Vladek is telling how somebody thought they found
flour and made a cake with it, but when in fact the flour they found was soap, the quote
was Some of the flower Pesach found it wasnt really flour, only laundry soap, what
he put in the cake by mistake. (P.119) there were moments of humor, like there is in
everyday life and the Holocaust was no different with its tiny moments of humor. Its a
G a r c i a | 22

defense mechanism that people naturally have to find humor even in the gravest
situations.
Some say the eyes are the windows to ones soul, and even thought with animals
you cant really notice that, Art Spiegelman depicts exactly that by just adding certain
details to the mouses face and adding some body language. For example in the scene
on page 109 where Tosha makes the difficult decision to kill the children and herself
which happens in the quote I wont go to their gas chambers! ...and my children wont
go to their gas chambers. Toshas face is very detailed because of how solemn the
situation was. Her eyes are very detailed with her eyebrows lowered in a serious kind of
way, and her head positioned was lowered which usually suggest sadness. Her face is
full of sweat, meaning she is very nervous at the same time. We unconsciously as
humans read body language without us really noticing it. We have many easily read
emotions because of how much time we spend practicing what emotions give off what
type of body language, facial expressions, and even tone of voice.
Despite having all your character as an animal, you still take the book very
serious because of all these details just mentioned. The Holocaust is a very unique
event in the time of our history, and made you realize how much being moral was
important. Art Spiegelman beautifully ties the ugly into this book without crossing any
lines. Reading between the lines, and reading the pictures carefully, you can see how
masterfully Art Spiegelman describes the relationship with his father, and why hes
writing this book. It was written to have a better understanding of his father and himself.







G a r c i a | 23

Unrealistically real
The movie The Matrix consist of many different types of philosophical aspects
that require you to know about to really fully understand the movies main idea. This idea
comes from an old philosopher that goes by the name of Aristotle, his apprentice, Plato,
wrote all about his teachers and what his ideas were. Platos Allegory of The Cave is
about how our reality cant really be real because it is all based on our senses. This is
the main idea that The Matrix focuses on. Neo, the main character of the movie, is just
like the rest of us, working, trying to find happiness in life, and just living not really
questioning anything. But without knowing, or anybody else around him, there is a
whole different world that is the real world and he is suddenly thrown in it without any
idea of what in the world is going on. Morpheus explains to him that the world has been
taken over by robots that mankind made themselves, and it is now the year 3000 or so.
Like the prisoners from the Allegory of the Cave, the shadows, or the mind control or
whatever that was, that the robots put into the mind of the humans was there whole
reality.
Platos Allegory of the Cave is a story about prisoners trapped in a cave held by
chains since childbirth. But these prisoners have no idea that they are prisoners
because their whole reality are the shadows that their captives put in front of them. A
prisoner eventually escapes, and in the movie that prisoner is Neo. Neo escapes his
fake reality and is suddenly in the real world. The fake world that Neo lived in seemed
as real as it could get, it was his whole reality. From The Allegory the quote Then
imagine someone says to him what he saw before was an illusion; but now, when he is
approaching nearer reality and his eye is turned toward more real existence, he has a
clearer vision.(P.84)This is represented in the movie when Neo found out by Morpheus
that his whole world has been a lie and everything he thought was real really wasnt,
Neo can barely even believe it and is in denial so badly he even throws up. And in the
quote Men would say of him that he left and returned without his eyes and that it was
better not even to think of leaving. (P.85) these men represent the society that Neo
lived in, and also us, today. If Morpheus tried to prove to the fake world any of this the
world that you guys live in is fake wooha, society would just label him as another man
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who lost his mind and has a genetic disorder that makes him crazy. Which is why
Morpheus tells him that he cant go back, even if he wanted to because he will live
knowing that everything around him is fake.
We today define our reality through our senses. But how many times have our
senses deceived. For example have you ever had a dream that was so real, that you
had trouble differentiating it from your memory? This what Descartes Meditations were
about? In the quote But I have occasionally caught my senses deceiving me, and its
prudent never completely to trust those who have cheated us even once.(P.19) Here
Descartes argues with himself, and he does so throughout the Meditation with a demon
he makes up himself. This demon is represented by in the movie as the big robots that
took over the world and are using the humans as a life source. Also in the quote When
I think carefully about this, I see so plainly that there are no reliable signs by which I can
distinguish sleeping from waking that I am stupefied-and stupor myself itself suggest
that I am asleep!(P.19) Shows that we cannot really tell if we are really sleeping or not.
Mankind doesnt really have any proof that we arent sleeping right now and that we are
all in a dream. Which is why Neo waking up from his dream state couldnt believe what
was actually real because he was in that state for so long!
Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole and article by Lawrence, talk about Descartes
and how our senses deceive us, but also how seriously should we take this and to what
extent. Obviously nobody even after having all this knowledge of philosophy is going to
start looking for the real world and change their whole life about it, but is also nice know
about it and that we shouldnt always be taking things so easily from society because
there is always a possibility that it isnt real. But Lawrence talks about in the quote One
cannot be mistaken by ones very existence (p.27) In which he says that the only thing
that was really approved that is for sure is a fact is that we are here. That someone or
something must be having these thoughts therefore we are here. This was the only this
that Descartes proved was a fact in his Meditation. Lawrence suggest that we ourselves
might also be in the Matrix in the quote In the end there may be no way to be
absolutely certain that we are not victims of a Matrix-type of deception.(P.28) It is really
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real that we could also be in a similar situation like Neo in the Matrix and ultimately we
have no proof to disprove of this idea.
In conclusion the movie The Matrix is about a thousand year old philosophical
idea that our reality might not be what we think it is. We may think we know what reality
really is, but in all honesty we dont. All we are sure of is that we are here thinking these
thoughts. Our senses cannot be trusted because they have deceived us before in our
dreams making us think that it was real, and then being woken up by an alarm clock
made us realize that it wasnt real. The movie is just a movie of what the Allegory of the
Cave looks like but with famous actors and action. But to really understand the deep
meaning behind the movie, you will need to take the red pill and dive deeper into
philosophical ideas of what the movie talks about and not just watch it because of the
cute actors and cool stunts.













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A Scrutinized Poem

Nobody sees the beauty in their life
Everybody sees the beauty in others lives
Living a life where everything you do is scrutinized
What will be your demise?
Youre your biggest critique
Seeing all these amazing writers in class
Put my writing to shame
It makes me think anything I write will
Never be good enough
Years of judgmental teachers nitpicking flaws
Have brainwashed me
Into thinking that there is always something wrong
With what I write
Surrounded by people who have maliciously changed
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And will put down anybody to make themselves feel
Better about their own faults
Face yourself
School is now a competitive sport
And is no longer about learning but about
Who gets into the prestigious universities
Willing to do anything and run anyone down
Going against friends and family
Selling your soul to devil
For just a university
And for a major in something they dont even like
For the financial benefit
Money
It brings happiness!
No it doesnt.
Well it certainly helps!
Everybody looks for something wrong in everybody
Well its obviously there if you look for it
G a r c i a | 28

Nobody looks for the beauty in everybody
There is if you look for it




















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Bears Final Itch

It was another day like any other. Bear was at school, and him being so tall he
towered over the most. Looking around he looked for one of his closest friends, Ricky.
Bear is known to be a very friendly guy and walking around hed say hello to many
people particularly girls most of the time. But still there were no signs of his friend and it
was time to give up because the bell had just rang.

Bear has a deep dark secret that not many know about. He is indeed a butt
scratcher addict of the highest level. Don't worry he scratches on top of his clothes so
no need to worry that much. He scratches his butt not only for the itch but also because
it relaxes him so y'know you can't blame him for being relaxing. But that day his butt
scratching days were going to be over because little did he know, his friend Ricky was
going to expose him to the whole world or maybe just the school but still it was a very
big thing for Ricky.

For years Ricky has had so much hate in his heart, growing up with his big friend
he started to become jealous. Why? Why would someone be so jealous of this big fella
you say? Well because of all the girls who would hug him voluntarily and all the friends
he made so easily, unlike Ricky who as a bit more timid and awkward. Ricky has been
planning this for over a year and what better day to expose Bear of his intense butt
scratching than the first day of school?

The day school started he came early to school putting posters all over the
school covering the walls with pictures of bear scratching his butt then hugging a girl.
The girls would never want to hug Bear ever again thought Ricky to himself. But Ricky's
plan failed miserably that day because no one cared that Bear scratched his butt
because they all accepted that of him a long time ago because Bear was not smooth
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when it came to scratching his butt because he was very obvious. Bear saw the hate his
friend had in him and helped out by making him go on a date with his cousin who was
somewhat interested in him. Bear could not carry hate for his friend because he
understood how he felt. Ricky did not want to go on this date thinking it was stupid and
he was to awkward to talk to a girl, but later did he know that they would have very long
happy relationship.