Everest English Blog

 Prompt Response: Right now my key focus is passing all my classes with the highest I can get my grades reasonably in this period. I will try my best to perform well and do well on my AP Exams but I’m not super stressed to do so. In a way finals and the end of the year is relaxing because you are riding the waves of your past efforts until the school year ends. I think students who have struggled with grades will be panicking right now because they risk failing the grade, but those who kept up will be more relaxed like me.  Summary: In class we watched a documentary about children and their journey to school, and answered some questions about the documentary.  Reflection: It is inspiring to see the lengths these children will go to in order to get to school. It can make you appreciate the value of education just a little bit more. 

 Prompt Response: One thing that stood out to me was the book Wild. The process of Cheryl moving through her trauma despite all the things she has done and experienced was therapeutic for me. Along with the experience of her hiking the trail provides some entertainment for us the audience while she works out her trauma. It connects to my life because for me hiking is one of the easiest ways to healthily work through my trauma. 

 Prompt Response: The cultural group I found to be the most interesting was the Middle Eastern men, specifically how the film they used about terrorists was made before 9-11. I’d known the U.S for some time had strained relationships with the Middle East but I didn’t know they were making films poking fun at them too. It made me feel more sympathy for them that I didn’t have before because I lacked context.  Summary: In class we presented our cultural group project and listened to others do the same.  Reflection: I am Middle Eastern by blood, though I haven’t been raised in its culture. So it was nice to hear more about something distantly related to me. I’ll admit before after 9-11 I was understanding of American fear of Middle Easterns but having this film before that puzzles me. I know there was a history of a tug of war but to make films insulting your enemy seems low even if it was for fun. 

 Prompt Response: I think it has to be a combination of all three working together but if I had to pick one I valued more it would be my interest in a field. I have a hard time doing work for things I don’t deem to matter. So if I’m passionate about something, all the other details can fall into place but if I’m missing the passion then I could care less.  Summary: In class we did research about some different careers we are interested in.  Reflection: Financial benefits and stability are extremely important to me although they are not the first thing I look for. Though they are game changers. I won’t pursue something if I don’t think it can offer me these things. It needs to be a balance although passion and interest comes first. 

 Prompt Response: What is most exciting about graduating from high school is the prospect of going to college. I love that idea of independence while pursuing a personalized degree. The idea of less classes per week, that is mostly work done alone excites me greatly. I'm now 19 years old, and I've wanted to be on my own since I was 13 years old. Now this day is nearly upon me. For me graduating represents a building of what seem like my entire life to pursue what I want in life.  Summary: In class we watched a video about preparing for our future, and the ted talk assured us that changing career paths is normal and sometimes encouraged.  Reflection: I cannot wait to start the next portion of my life. I've dreamed of the following days for years now. Though now more than ever I'm aware of what I'm giving up. I'm saying goodbye to my home and environment hear. I won't get to see some of the people I adore as much because of where we are going to school. It is ...

 Prompt Response: I like the alternative style. I personally like what I wear but I enjoy being around those who wear clothing like this. I like it because it shows the connection we share in our culture and more than not love of shared music. People may assume these people are troubled or no good because of how they look, but in reality they are people just living too.  Summary: I was absent from class this day.  Reflection: I like people who openly wear how they feel on their sleeve. Its refreshing, so I enjoy being around people like them. We share an interest of common music but also a way in which we interact. We will tell it straight to one another, and that's a privilege not shared by many. 

 Prompt Response: A film that represents my culture in a meaningful way is The Great Gatsby. The film's portrayal of how materialism becomes more valued than relationships is relevant to me. My family often breaks up due to one member wanting to seek out their own goals particularly money. They are obsessed with this idea of a perfect life they chase, like many of the characters in The Great Gatsby. For example Daisy and Tom pursue this perfect lifestyle and do what it takes to preserve that.  Summary: I was absent from class.  Reflection: My family's chase of materialism confuses me and yet seems like the natural solution for us. Many of us grew up in poverty and extreme situations so we cope but pursing the top, the best this life can offer us. But it leads to us neglecting our relationships and what truly matters in life. 

 Prompt Response: The stereotypes presented in the film made the boy question things about himself that he never thought of before because of other's judgements and stereotyping. It made him question who he was, and whether he could be around his friend due to him potentially posing a health risk to his friend. At the end of the film, the boy is told he does not have AIDS and now has to show everyone around him he does not. He fights to self actualize who he is, especially in front of others. Stereotypes can influence how cultures and groups see one another due to the nature of stereotyping. Since stereotyping is only a portion of the truth, that has been blurred. Some kids in Africa do have AIDS so yes Africans can have AIDS but not all Africans have AIDS.  Summary: I was absent from class this day.  Reflection: Stereotyping is extremely harmful, yet is still used and done daily. Often in the context of humor but still. It's danger is apparent when children are doing it ...

 Prompt Response: I remember watching the movie Fast and Furious and seeing how gigantic and hot LA felt. How riddled with street racing it seemed to be. It was portrayed as a place of opportunity for all things including crime, and in this case street racing and robbery among other things. This film presented a single story of how LA can be portrayed but it was incomplete. This portrayal may make people think that street racing is more common than it really is, among other crimes occurring in that film.  Summary: In class we completed a common lit assignment.  Reflection: Its hard to get a full picture of anything from just one source. I believe for something to be presented as a full picture it must have multiple sources of information to correctly display how this thing really is. 

  Prompt Response: Filmmakers continue to use stereotypes in films even when they can be harmful because they are funny. In the pursuit of comedy a filmmaker may draw on the fact we’ve all heard this assumption about a group before and play off it. I don’t think it justified their use of the stereotype but I can understand why they did it.  Summary: In class we completed a common lit assignment. Reflection: I think most of the time in modern films stereotyping isn’t done with strictly malicious intent. I believe most of the time they do it with a purpose, potentially to highlight how wrong this stereotype is in the first place. 

 Prompt Response: For me this was Kill Bill Vol 1 for the character of Pai Mei. I was too young to be watching a film like this. I hid behind my parents backs to watch it with my older brother. For me I thought if you lived in the mountains and were Asian you obviously knew some form of martial arts or why else would you live there? In time this assumption fell, but there was a time if I heard someone was Asian and they lived in isolation especially in mountains that they knew martial arts.  Summary: I was absent.  Reflection: I had to think long about this prompt because these assumptions and stereotypes can go unnoticed fairly easy if you grew up around it. So I wanted to think everything over careful to see what I had seen as a kid and interpreted a certain way because of that representation. 

 Prompt Response: My hair connects to me to my culture because my hair is my mother's whose is Pakistani hair. To me its one of the few connections that ties me back to my heritage. I remember when someone recognized that it was middle eastern hair, and I felt proud. It made me realize I have more to offer than the traditional white hair I'd known for my life.  Summary: I was absent, but I assume it had to do with the discussion of hair and how it relates to one's culture.  Reflection: Hair is one of the easiest pieces to express one's self and offers insight into how someone see's themselves plus how they want to be perceived. To me its important to take care of your hair in a way that reflects yourself, because that's one of the first things people notice about you. 

 Prompt Response: The perfect spring break trip for me would be a road trip with my girlfriend and I to various national parks. Just us and her car with everything we could fit. It would be peaceful, a way to get away from responsibilities for a bit.  Summary: In class  we worked on our common lit assignments.  Reflection: For me breaks or vacations mean relaxing which is something my dad didn’t understand when we traveled. Now that I’m getting to the age to travel of my own accord, I want vacations to be relaxing and exciting. I want to do things that make me feel happy and fulfilled, rather than just excited and stressed. 

 Prompt Response: The presentations highlighted how many different types of foods there are out there in my neighborhood that are normal for them but I've never heard of it. It is like discovering there has been another world under your nose. The presentations illustrated that many of these cultures exist all together in one place, you just have to know where to look. What stood out to me the most was how everyone treated their culture's foods. For the one presenting it felt so normal and they seemed almost bored referring to their foods. Meanwhile to me I've never heard or seen something like these dishes before. It was shocking in a good way.  Summary: In class we presented our projects about our culture and how it connects to the food we eat, along with watch our classmates present as well.  Reflection: We often think of other cultures as existing in another place or world from us. We can just watch or hear about them but realizing they are right next to us is another ...