Ap English Language and Composition

        From snails to Harambe the Ap Enligsh Language and Composition exam was an interesting experience. The night before I had prepared myself for such a test by doing what I do best, sleeping. And after a full nights rest I was ready at 6 am to tackle it. When arriving at the school I assumed it would be like the Ap euro exam and leave us in the audiotrium until testing time. But as I opened the cafeteria doors I was overwhelmed. From rhetorical devices to princeton review books I was shooked at the amount of studying being done last minute. Which made me just as flustered as my peers. But I reminded myself that this was only a test that would not count towards my grade. And that in a few hours id be back in bed.
      First was the multiple choice. And honestly it was what I was most worried about as in most of the pratice I do not finish. I was kind of glad that the 19th century passage was first because i would be able to get it over with a freshmind and not tired. However during this part of the exam my allergies kicked in with full affect. And with Mr,K's words in the back of my mind I hesitated going in my bag for tissues. So I ended up calling over one of the proctors and asking permission first before diving into my bag for the first tissue I grabbed. For the essays I had first looked over the wrting prompt for the third essay to get my ideas going throughout questions 1 and 2. But the synthesis essay was the least of my worries and the essay topic was one I related to the most as i still visit the library. The rhetoical essay was a bit confusing bacause it asked how did Luce prepare her audience rather than what we usually see in class. But I just disregarded that question and wrote an usual rhetorical device essay as we would do in class. And lastly the infamous question 3. Upon first glance I was at a lost to exactly what I was arguing. But after finishing the other two essays i sort of understood what i had to do. And honestly two people popped into my mind. Trump and Hitler. Mr.Felders words of originality played in my mind as I quickly crossed out both examples. So I wrote about the "Cash me outside girl" and her way to fame by tricking and entising her auidence. I also discussed Harmbe and how many made him out to be an angry harmful gorilla to try to justify his murder. But in the end with 5 minutes left and no other examples i discussed Trump. I think this essay topic was picked specifically for this time period and gave students their one chance to lash out against our president and show his fallacies. But after the exam my dad brought me ice cream and I took a long nap.

The concert

My older brother is holding us close together for the fear of losing us. The empty candy boxes break our fall as we topple over one another in hopes of getting a better view. The hum of the cool concert hall can't stop our sweaty bodies from sticking to each other. The smell of hot cheese and popcorn from the concession stand makes my stomach grumble but I know I'm minutes away from seeing him and that's all that matters. The drumset sits still, untouched as it awaits the riot ahead. Feet run across the stage anxiously checking and rechecking to calm their nerves. Chanting and screams still roar the concert hall but I know is only the beginning for what is to come. The man next to me reeks of a few too many beers ans the girl across from me is too excited to notice the man hauling at her exposed chest. But here in this pit we are all the same.

Discrimination? Still?

            When a teen must fear for his life just walking to the store, something is wrong in society. We applaud ourselves as being an innovated and superior society when we cannot fix problems we have been facing for centuries. What a slave faced many years ago, is still in play today as people still discriminate others whether it be based on sexuality, race, and even age. We may think we have solved the problems long ago when discrimination still plays a role in society and it is not right. Discrimination is still alive and well in our society.

            When innocent people must fear for their lives just because of their skin color no one can make the argument that discrimination is not in our society. Because over time it has become more apparent and I will not pretend it does not exist. White supremacy has been dominating our society from when people first sailed the ocean blue. But now in the smart age filled with personal and technological advancements, this superiority over others should have been fixed, correct? Well no. Just last week a police car pulled over a college student for speeding. This student happened to be white giving him time to explain his situation and in the end having the police officer help him tie his tie. Now this may seem like a generous action but when just this summer a black father was shot in his parked car when asked to reach for his license and registration, it shows the true underlying fear and discrimination still being input in society. The white student had probably been asked for his license and registration just the same as the black father. However, his life was not taken just because he was white. These are problems we thought we overcame but because of misunderstanding and trepidation we are just back where we started.   

            Discrimination not only takes form in race but can be seen in many forms including gender. When the 19^th amendment was passed, women had believed their struggle and fight to be equal to men had been completed. Well once again society has proved that being the gender you are is also not good enough to be equal to the white male. One example of this is the “pink tax”. When buying products there always seems to be something for women. These products are ultimately the same as the regular one however with a little color scheme change the prices seem to increase rapidly. I’m sure that pink dye doesn’t not cost a whole two dollars more but since it is for a female the princes are ranked up. It seems as females are an inconvenience to society and we must make up for it by paying more for a floral scented toothpaste. Discrimination should still not be affecting the way we are treated.

            Discrimination happens every day and to almost everyone at some point in time. I remember one time me and a group of friends had planned to sneak some snacks into a movie theater. We headed to the nearest convenient store which happened to be empty and were all swarming through aisles conversing and just looking for the tastiest of the choices. There was only one worker and around eight of us teens so I understood his worries. However, when he made us all leave the shop making accusations of us stealing and how we weren’t going to pay I as confused. We weren’t bad people and of course were going to pay however his thoughts and fears for the worst made him jump to conclusions causing us to not give him our business. I think that discrimination is fueled by anticipation of the unknown and worries based on doubts. However, no matter how unsure someone is that does not give them the right to discriminate against someone.

            Fear and misunderstandings are key when discussing discrimination. We expect the worst out of situations as revert to stereotypical thoughts giving others an unfair advantage. When we should be trying to empathies and treat everyone equal. Equality is what was strived for and thought we achieved centuries ago. But for our society to have no changed anything is pathetic. We have the ability and the drive to create change and truly create equality for everyone together.

            

Shamefully Nappy

           In the personal narrative "Shame" by Dick Gregory, Gregory explains a childhood experience that manipulated his views of himself and the world around him. Gregory writes to analyze the idea of shame and its affect on the people. He strategically uses repetition and pathos to portray this purpose. Throughout the text Gregory uses the term "daddy" as more than just a father figure but a privilege or an advantage everyone had over Gregory "And she had a Daddy, and he had a good job (Gregory, 2)". The word is glorified and in this time period if you had a daddy you privileged and fortunate. Being fatherless made feel indignity of who he and his family had. This relates to the purpose of the text as Gregory craves a "daddy" and through the use of repetition we feel his longing  to feel socially comfortable . Through Gregory's mortification the reader feels how deeply greed can affect one. 

        Gregory also uses a pathos to emphasize his purpose. In the text Gregory describes his first love and how she was everything he wanted. "Everybody's got a Helene Tucker, a symbol of everything you want (Gregory, 2)." Through Helene tucker Gregory is able to express his feelings and the innocent intentions he had with her. She was the reason for Gregory's desire to not be shameful and to be well off in society. Helene was Gregory's first love and later when he is embarrassed in front of her brings a pity and realization to both Helene and the readers. The use of love helps to describe the purpose as it helps shows that shame is something an innocent young boy felt as he tried to impress the only one he cared for. As the readers root for love it all comes crashing down as the brewing idea of shame comes through and really shows itself as an entity of society towered by ranks and class.

         In the text Gregory writes "..wish my hair wasn't so nappy (Gregory,2)". It reminded me of my own hair and how it has grown over time. Most people don't speak out about my hair as it is amazing. But often enough I read comments and hear stories of people being shamed for keeping their hair naturally the way it was meant to be and it just sounds so idiotic to me. Your hair is your hair and no one should have anything to say about YOUR hair as it is none of their nosy business. Also people should embrace with whatever they were born with and do whatever the hell they want with their hair. Whether its permed, natural, or filled with extensions it is your hair and you shouldn't let someone who barely has hair bring you down. I can honestly say I love my hair and am not shameful of its nappyness

Year Round Schooling

             Year round schools seem as a good idea; students will be out of the house, teachers will get paid more, and teachers will be less focused on time and would start prioritizing student comprehension. Finally. However this is just unrealistic and unacceptable. Being a junior in high school i can say i've come to know the public school system and how it works. It drags us from our warmth and comfort ,stuffs us into 45 minute classes with classmates we don't have a care talking to and with teachers stressing more about how we don't have time rather than discussing the actual lesson. Now this only goes on for about 10 months before we are back to our regular schedule of enjoying our adolescence. 
              Making the schools year round is a terrible idea as a counter part of school is stress. These years in an adolescence life is all about making life decisions and finding out who we are. With this comes fear and anxiety that students just can't cope with. One of my friends experiences severe anxiety around exams and often goes off the grid for a while before actually confronting her problem. Having that summer break for just 2 months really helps to just relax and take a breather. It also serves as motivation as most students think 'Just 2 more weeks and we'll be done'. In a survey  conducted by NBC news studies found that high school students are under more stress than adults. Students need this break to truly relax and find themselves. 

     I used a semi colon because I wanted to expand upon the first sentence and instead of creating two different sentences I connected the two. I also used Zinsser's tip on moss changes because it helped switch over to may purpose of this letter. Lastly I used contractions because it kept my writing casual and informal.