Sydney Series

   I never understood the point of acknowledgements that are drawn out for pages and pages . If some individuals are important to the writer, why doesn't the writer just express their gratitude directly to them? As I am writing my own acknowledgements that I was forced to write against my will for a grade (if Mrs.Valentino is reading this I am joking), I have come to the conclusion that there is an alternative reason writers take the time to write acknowledgements: reflection. Writing books is a long process, and so is writing all the time in English AP. We have improved so much over the course of just two semesters that it is important to reflect on the journey we’ve had. Like many authors have done, I am writing my acknowledgements to reflect upon all the reading and writing I have done as well as the people who have helped me along the way.       Mrs.Valentino is like a drill sergeant that orders us to read and reflect on countless pieces like we...

  “Look up there, look up there!” the child’s mom coaxes her. Unbeknownst to the woman, there was not a single coherent thought in the little girl's mind; her young brain was still inchoate and jumbled. The young girl was having quite the excursion that day. Early in the A.M she was dragged away whilst playing with her favorite toys. After taking a nap in something called “the car'', she awoke in a place referred to as “the zoo” (zee-oh-oh is how it was spelled out to her).  The zoo was a menagerie of peculiar creatures that the girl had never laid eyes on before; her juvenile mind was unable to comprehend the whimsical beasts. In addition to their strange appearances, the names given to the creatures were equally bizarre. Who would name an animal aardvark, hippopotamus, iguana, zebra, or chimpanzee ? She felt like she was in a fairytale or a Disney movie since zany critters like the ones at “the zoo” only existed on her television screen or on the pages of a storybook. Af...

   To further my research about the mythical Nacirema, I camped for hours in one of their congregation areas: Starrboks. A truly magical, yet terrifying place it was to be in. I started my investigation in the A.M and continued it until dusk; a variety of members were attracted to this holy space. There were several men and women dressed in neutral-colored attire — a type of garb they refer to as “business attire” – that swarmed the Starrboks early in the morning. Around noon, groups of young adults staggeredly walked in with bags and books. Upon further inspection, I realized they belonged to a tribe called college. In order to avoid being exiled from college, the young adults must spend hours enduring tortuorous reading and writing. However, the group I observed appeared more transfixed on anything else but completing their work. In the afternoon, another wave of youth arrived, but they were from a lower tribe called high school. Instead of reading sacred texts, this group u...

I was contemplating what topic I should choose to discuss in my blog post this week, and then I had a moment of clarity. I felt like a genius. To carry out my scheme, I needed the help of my friend Kaitlin. Below in Pictures 1-2 is our conversation over text. Ironically, Kaitlin misunderstanding my intent fits perfectly with my blog post topic. If you actually took the time to read the text, I already stated that I've been reflecting upon the usage of polite speech over text and how it differs between people and situations.  When I’m texting my close friends, I don't bother with polite speech and neither do they. I often forget that my clarity over text decreases significantly, which is why Kaitlin was confused about my directions. In addition, when I text my friends I don't worry about including polite speech since I don’t need to be formal with them. As an effect, I can come across rude, but we’re familiar with each other, so the rudeness in my texting is no big deal. In ...

About 5,400 new words are created each day in the English language; the internet being a contributing factor of this occurrence. Since the mid90s, with the creation of the first social media--Six Degrees--internet forums and social media sites have been a prevalent part of our lives and cultures. Because the majority of people spend hours online, it is no surprise that interactions on the web have resulted in new colloquialisms.  Brief History of Social Media Mid90s: Six Degrees is first recognized social media created  Mid2000s: creation of MySpace and Facebook marks an increase interest in social media Early 2010s: Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr gain popularity  Late 2010s-Now: TikTok immerges as a social media giant  The origin of internet slang and colloquialisms is dependent on the social media site and the youth who were active on that site. For example, letter Homophones like LOL and OMG were popularized by millennials on sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Earl...

This week in my English AP class I read “I want a Wife” written by Judy Brady. Brady summarizes the impossible demands wives face in her essay. This made me reflect upon the portrayal of wives in sitcoms I watched when I was younger. Many times, wives are depicted as overbearing, no fun second mothers to their husbands. This is especially common in sit-coms like King of Queens and the Simpsons. Carrie and Marge are the responsible opposite to their irresponsible husbands, Doug and Homer. The control freak wife and the buffoon husband is a trope that was used in virtually every sitcom in the 90s to the 2010s. The irony of the sitcom wives is that they are expected to manage all the affairs regarding the family that the husband is too stupid to do while also being a fun partner. The wives, like Carrie and Marge, were criticized by their husbands for being too controlling or boring, yet the husbands, like Doug and Homer, wouldn't lift a finger to help their family. These impossible st...