What Classic City Has Done For Me

Classic City has helped me to improve personally. I have a bad temper and a smart mouth which got me into a lot of trouble at my old schools. Although I was very capable of doing my work, I would often disregard it because I was in a bad mood. Coming over to Classic City was the best education decision I’ve ever made. It has helped me to learn to control my temper and put aside my personal life so I could do the best I can at school.

In middle school and up to high school I had a very bad attitude when it came to school. I disliked the teachers, my classmates, and I never wanted to get up in the morning to go to school. I would walk into the building in a bad mood before anything even had the chance to upset me. I would catch an attitude with my teachers, talk back, and do the exact opposite of what they said. However, when I came over to Classic City I knew none of that would be tolerated. I cared about my education, although at times I didn’t show it. So from that point on I knew I had to change my ways. My mouth was the root of most of my problems, and coming over to Classic City has helped me learn how to bite my tongue when it’s necessary; you shouldn’t always speak what’s on your mind.

Whenever I was in a bad mood, not only did it reflect on my attitude towards my teachers and the students but also my school work. I was highly capable of completing my work with flying colors, but I didn’t. I would just simply refuse. I failed classes that I could have easily passed and let my emotions get in the way of my education. Here at Classic City you go at your own pace, which I think helps everyone out. There are fewer distractions so you can work better and the fact that you can’t get away with as much as you can at traditional high schools helps you to make better decisions. They prohibit bullying, fighting, and being disrespectful towards teachers or classmates, and anyone who does these things anyways gets kicked out. I still have a hard time with letting my emotions reflect my school work but because of the way your work is set up here, it doesn’t set me behind. A lot of work can be done online at home through blogs, which helps me out a lot because whenever I have a “not so productive” day, I make up for it that night at home. I prefer this over textbooks any day.

With the opportunity to work at your own pace, I have managed to get ahead in most of my classes. I’m a very hard worker and I feel the need to be challenged in order to do well. When things are too easy I tend to get bored and frustrated and refuse to work on it. A more challenging task will keep me interested so the end product comes out better. I work hard in all my classes because I know if I do this it will help me to get ahead overall. At traditional high schools you don’t really have the opportunity to graduate early. They will not let you finish a class early and move onto the next one. So for me that made me slack; I knew that I could give it half my best effort and still pass, so that’s exactly what I did. Here at Classic City I don’t just settle, I exceed. Because in the end, I know it will count.

Because of how hard I worked I now have the opportunity to graduate early. Something I could have never done at Cedar Shoals, or with my old attitude. I will graduate high school at the young age of 16 and very proud to say so. I have worked hard to finish my classes up early so I could start on the next one and get as many extra credits in as possible. Not only has Classic City allowed me to graduate ahead of my class, but it has also taught me things I can use for the rest of my life. I have grown in the little time I have been here and have learned to control my anger severely. I wouldn’t change my decision of coming to Classic City for anything.

Gay Marriage

Marriage is a personal union of individuals. Yet, gay marriage is illegal because the constitution defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. But marriage is really a union of individuals, period. So why is it that homosexuals are forbidden to be married? The law doesn’t forbid marriage against race, color, or religion. So why does gender matter? I feel that gay marriage should be legalized in all 50 states of America.

The constitution states that, “All men are created equal.” If this is true, why are homosexuals not treated and guaranteed the same rights as heterosexuals? Are they not human like the rest of mankind? A homosexual can love a human being the same way a heterosexual can. Love represents a range of emotions and experiences related to the senses of affection and sexual attraction. Homosexuals are people the same way heterosexuals are. Marriage is an expression of love, but because of the law, homosexuals are prohibited from this expression. I don’t feel that it is very fair to prohibit any couple from expressing their love.

Many people against gay marriage believe it is something that should be shared between a man and a woman, like stated in the constitution. As shown above, the definition of marriage says nothing about whom the union is between. Who’s to say that marriage should be specifically shared between a male and a female? The reason for marriage is the same, so why shouldn’t it apply to all couples in love? The government wouldn’t say that marriage can only be shared between humans of the same race, so why is it suddenly ok to forbid a couple of the same gender?

Most people disagree with homosexual couples raising a family or dislike the fact that they can’t produce any children. People have said that a kid growing up with parents of the same sex is not “suitable.” That is ridiculous; it makes no difference what gender you parents are. The government will allow anyone, except homosexuals, to get married, even known child molesters are allowed to get married and raise a family. Kids growing up in a home where their father might molest them and traumatize them for life is not more suitable then kids growing up with two loving fathers, or two loving mothers. The fact that homosexual couples can’t naturally have a baby is, of course, true. But there are plenty of heterosexual couples in which the man or woman are infertile or just don’t wish to have kids. That is no different than the fact that homosexuals can’t have kids. A homosexual couple can do sere gated pregnancies or adoptions the same way heterosexual couples can. The most important thing in a family is love, and that can be provided by a heterosexual or homosexual couple.

The common argument I hear is that it’s immoral. Though this may be a personal belief for people, it should not be applied to the government because of separation of church and state, which is a law that was derived from the first amendment. People have the right to believe that it’s a sin to be homosexual; they have the freedom to their own religion, but this argument cannot be used to argue that same sex marriage should be illegal. It’s perfectly fine for one to have their own views and opinions, but will agreeing with the ban of same sex marriages really stop homosexuals from being together? Not at all, you will still see homosexual couples together because that’s their right, just like being able to be married should be.

To deny someone the right to marry the person they love goes against every right man is guaranteed to. Homosexual couples can’t help who they love anymore then a heterosexual can help who they love. They shouldn’t be punished or denied the right to love another human being. Gays and lesbians have been fighting for the right to be able to express their love and devotion to each other. Today gay marriage is legal in the state of California and Nevada, and hopefully this will encourage other states to make it legal as well. Love makes a marriage, nothing more, and nothing less; hopefully the law will open their eyes and see that.

Realism

1. Realism focused on the facts. So they made sure their writing was very detailed. The Story Of An Hour it shows this aspect very well. it details everything to the motions of her breathing, "Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously." It describes in detail the woman, and her room and surroundings. It shows how her illness and the loss of her husband has taken a toll on her. "Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach her soul." The woman is very tired and her body has become to much to even pick up. When she sits all her weight drops on top of her. It describes the outside and how the weather is. My favorite line was, "The delicious breath of rain in the air." It explains that smell left in the air after it rains. You can smell it and feel it, to me the best time to be outside is right after it rains.

The woman was having heart problems before, but it's obvious her husbands death took a toll on her and led her to her early grave. At the end of the story right before she dies, her husband walks into the door. "It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of accident, and did not even know there had been one." The news reported that Brently had been killed in the accident when in actuality he wasn't. The matter to be fixed in this story is accuracy. People needed to get better about getting the facts right. They reported him dead without even knowing he was for sure, and because of this, his wife died.

2. The part that caught my attention in The Battle With Mr. Covey was the trip Frederick Douglass took through the woods and the fight. It was so detailed that you could picture the image in you head. "After lying there about three quarters of an hour, I nerved myself up again, and started on my way, through bogs and briers, barefooted and bareheaded, tearing my feet sometimes at nearly every step;" it gives you the image of him stepping on briers, thorns, and all sorts of things, tearing up the bottoms of his feet. "While he was in the act of doing so, I watched my chance, and gave him a heavy kick close under the ribs. This kick fairly sickened Hughes, so that he left me in the hands of Mr. Covey. This kick had the effect of not only weakening Hughes, but Covey also. While he saw Hughes bending over with pain, his courage quailed." This explains that when Hughes came to help Mr. Covey while they were fighting he kicked him down and sickened him. After seeing this Mr. Covey knew he was helpless against Frederick.

The problem surfacing from this story is slavery. It explains how horribly slaves were treated. When transferred over to another owner, he was worked harder then ever. We were worked in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold; it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow too hard for us to work in the field." Nobody should have to be worked that hard, certain weather should excuse a day working out in the fields.

He couldn't even enjoy the one day he had off from working. "At times I would rise up, a flash of energetic freedom would dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint gleam of hope that flickered for a moment, and then vanished. I sank down again, mourning over my wretched condition." A Romantic might write a story about a slave imagining his life as somebody else, like a free man. Realist thought this unnecessary. The problem of slavery needed to be dealt with. This story invites you into what it was like for slaves so that maybe you could see how much of a problem it truly was.

3. I chose a quote about life as my example of Realism. The quote states, "I've made mistakes in my life I've let people take advantage of me and accepted way less then I deserve, but I've learned from my bad choices and even though there are some things I can never get back and people who will never be sorry I'll know better next time and I won't settle for less than I deserve." This quote expresses Realism to me because it's being honest. It doesn't try to deny the fact that bad things have happened in life, or that they have made mistakes. Instead of ignoring it or acting as though it didn't happen, they take notice of it and decide to do something to change it.

Dark Romanticism

1. I would have to say I definitely fall closer to being a Dark Romanticism. I don't believe that everyone is pure and good. Look around the world today. There are too many murderers, child molesters, rapists, and abuser out there for everyone to be pure. There is evil inside of us. I just believe some of us let more out then others. I do agree that original sin has made us all sinners. That's why Jesus died on the cross. To relieve us of our sins and the sin already marked onto us.

2. Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe was about a man who was possessed by evil and eventually let it control him. He first started with being agitated by his cat. He ended up hanging the cat. He then got another cat and shortly after was annoyed. He could only keep himself from doing it harm for so long. When he tried to chop off his head with an ax he was stopped by his wife. Who in return got an ax blown to her head. He buried her corps on the inside of the wall. When police came over to the house to search he let them look through the whole house. When it came to the wall where his wife was buried he hit it to prove how string they hold up. After doing so a sound came from inside the wall. When it was torn apart, he came to find out he buried the cat inside the wall wih the corpse of his wife. To me the story was very strange, but understandable. Someone who has anger like that built up is likely to blow, and when they do, it will be big.

Transcendentalist believed that everyone was pure and good. The man in this story was obviously evil. In the story Black Cat the man is obviously evil. He commits evil acts just to comment him, like in the text it states, "--hung it because in doing so I knew I was committing a sin--" He hung the cat just because he knew it was wrong, "--to do wrong for the wrong's sake only." Dark Romanticism believed there was evil inside of everyone. This story obviously shows that.

3. The Raven is about a man who was sleeping and awoken by someone knocking on his door. When he went to the door no one was there. This frightened him because he heard someone at the door. He says, "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing," When no one was there he tried to lay back down and go back to sleep. He was awoken once again by a louder tapping, this time at his window. He opened it and in flew a Raven and perched upon his door.

When the Raven was sitting perched on his door he says to it, " 'Prophet!" said I, 'thing of evil!--prophet still, if bird or devil!'--" This line stood out to me. He thinks that the bird is evil and may be possessed by the devil. This frightens him and he wants the bird to get out of his house.

This is an example of Dark Romanticism because a Transcendentalist would never think that a bird was evil. They believe that a bird is a creature made from God so therefore it is pure and good just like the humans. They would never question whether the bird was possessed by the devil or not.

Back On The Block

As I finished up back on the Block tons of secrets were revealed. Some of Joe's fellow officers are fed up with him and the system, so they kidnap Joe and Reese and take them to Joe's apartment. They shoot Joe and put Reese's fingerprints on the gun so that she is framed. They then left him there to die. Reese calls the ambulance and leaves. She goes to the only person she can, David. After revealing to him what happened with Joe and how Jamal tricked her into setting him up to kill Tyrell Porter, she finds out that the man was David's brother. Reese then decides to help David set up Jamal to get him put away for good. The plan backfires in her face and she gets sent to jail for attempted murder against Joe. When Joe finally comes out of a coma and testifies that Reese is innocent she gets out of jail and is back with David. With her sister slowly coming out of a coma, things start to look better for Reese.

Transcendentalist

1. In Nature it talks about how you need to get away from everything and sit with your own thoughts in nature. It's a way to be at peace so that no other human being can influence you or distract you. It's just you, your thoughts, God, and nature. One part stood out to me the most. It said, "But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile." To me the greatest time of peace is at night. With the dark sky, lit up by the moon and stars. It brings me to nature and lets me connect if only for a moment. Self-Reliance is about just that, relying on oneself. It tells you to go with what you feel, trust your conscious regardless where it leads you. The sentence that stood out most to me was, "To be great is to be misunderstood.." It's saying that if you were to be normal and follow the crowd, then you would be accepted and it would be easy for people to understand you. But if you were to be great, and go with what your mind tells you, then you will be misunderstood. In the first paragraph of Resistance to Civil Government it is obvious to notice that the character does not agree with government. The sentence, "...which also I believe--'That government is best which governs not at all';" makes it clear that he does not agree with government. He feels that it holds people back from their true potential and that man could do so much more without the government restricting them.



2. Nature is a great form of Transcendentalist. They believed that God spoke to everyone in their minds. Nature is about getting away from everything else and connecting with nature. Since God created nature it would also connect you to him. The first line of the text states, "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. For Transcendentalist, solitude could mean speaking to God. In order to do that they would need to get away from their own worries and problems as well as others, and focus on their own thoughts and what God says to them. Self-relevance also relates to Transcendentalist. The sentence, "Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today-" Transcendentalist believed you should go with your conscious. If you followed what your mind told you, which was God speaking to you, you could never go wrong. This sentence is saying just that. Go with what your mind tells you regardless what it may be. Transcendentalist, like Resistance to Civil Government, did not agree with the government. They felt that if everyone did what their mind told them, which was directed by God, they would be just fine. The sentence, "The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way." This relates to Transcendentalist because they believe that their minds will lead them to whatever needs to be done, but the government will forbid them to go with that.



3. In the video, Alone in the Wilderness, a man sets out with himself into the wilderness for a year. Just the title alone relates me to Transcendentalists. Nature was something created by God. To go out into the wilderness by yourself would be a way to connect with God with no other distractions. The man states, "What was I capable of that I didn't know yet?" This shows that he wants to go out by himself, with nothing to rely on but his own mind and conscious. This is exactly what Transcendentalist believed one should do.



The man uses what he knows and what his mind tells him to build his own house in just the right place out in the woods. When talking about the wood on his cabin hanging off and how he needed to cut them shorter he says, "..you can't rush it."He knows not to rush anything, to make it look right and hold up well, you have to do everything at just the right time. Again, he is listening to himself, he has no one there to guide him along on what to do. Only his conscious.

Since Transcendentalist believed that God spoke to people through nature and a persons intuition this video can relate to that. This man survives int he nature alone by using nothing but his intuition and what he knows.

Back On The Block

In this section, Reese goes to visit her sister Tracey at the hotel she's living in. When Tracey tempts her with her crack Reese relapses and hits the pipe. She later leaves and goes back to her hotel. She later finds out her sister was brutally raped and was in a coma in the ICU at the hospital. Reese is also involved with Joe, a cop. She is trying to help him crack down on Jamal Winters whose the head of a gang in chicago. She also meets David in a bar. He knows who she is, but she doesn't know that he's an ex-cop looking for his brothers murderers. He reels her in and gets her to stay with him for awhile. Meanwhile Joe is getting fed up with Reese for not keeping in touch with him.

Back On The Block

Back On The Block, by Felicia Madlock, is about a young woman, Reese Clark, who goes back to Chicago to help out her younger sister, Tracey. Reese was once hooked on drugs herself and left Chicago and got clean. When she heard how bad off her sister was, and how she was addicted to crack, she decided to go back and help her. In the first section I read Reese gets to Chicago and goes searching for her sister Tracey. Her sister Tracey, is involved with an ex-cop by the name of David Davenport. He left the force to investigate his brothers' murder his own way. He found out that Reese Clark and Jamal Winters we're behind it. So he sets up with Tracey to get information on Reese. He's paying her, so Tracey never questions why he wants to know all this. Tracey despises her sister for abondoning her and wouldn't mind seeing her dead. Reese finally finds Tracey at a warehouse and Jamal, who isn't pleased, finds Reese there also.

Girls In the Hood 2

Girls In The Hood 2 by Nikki Turner, Kashamba Williams, and Joy was a story about the lives of three different women. All of which were connected in some small way. The first woman, Africa, was a young woman with a very low self-esteem. Her life turned around when her mother found out she was sleeping with her husband, who was her step-father, and left her to fend for her own in the apartment they lived in. Of course Africa couldn't afford it and 30 days later was evicted. She slept around wherever she could, until she met Rock. He used her and played her to get money out of her. She believed it all because she thought she was in love. She soon found out, the hard way, the truth. Africa met Harmony once when she was at her cousins house. Harmony is the second woman in this story. She's the type of girl who tries so hard to fit in with the "hood" girls. So she meets Nikko, who introduces her to cocaine. Once she's addicted she'll do anything to keep herself supplied. It takes her to hit rock bottom to realize she needs help. Unique does whatever it takes to make sure she has money in her wallet. She even took a hit at Rock and Africa and took all their money. She's cellmates with Africa in jail, and when she finally gets out she's ready to start all over again. She meets up with her ex and they become the new day Bonnie and Clyde. But, when she finds out the truth, it takes her back to square one.