I PRESENT TO YOU THE GRADUATING CLASS OF ENC 1102 ...

Dear 1102 Family,

I have no clue where to begin. It feels like the last day of high school where we all go our seperate ways. Our fig fam started just last year and i am so happy that we've gotten as close as we have. I not only gained 20 new friends i gained new brothers and sister that will stay with me forever and our mother being Tasha! =). Im trying so hard to hold back my tears cause i think its so sad that its all ending. whos going to watch me dance or having a sugar rush? or tell me to "shut up lola" when i've said to much. I have learned so much from 1101 and 1102 and words could not explain how much i appreciate everything that i've learned in this class.

and even though most of you will not read this hopefully one day you will:

Jacklyn: my love, you do too much! =) i enjoyed working with you on the teen mom project and even though u didn't say much we eventually got a blooper out of you.

Adriana: HAIR! HAIR! ... HAAAIIIRRR!!! lol i love your unedumacated responses. im really glad we worked together on the project i had a blast laughing with you.

Bryttany: my cupcake buddy!! i wish you would talk more! i know u have it in you... i heard you with your friends!! but i did have fun with the project and the paint and the cupcake runs.

Danielle: the teams mommy. you are such an ispiration to me. your an incredible young lady and i wish you the best with your family. I hope i get to meet your son the next time hes around here.

Basmah: i didn't really get to talk to you that much except for the time when i peer reviewed your essay. i wish you the best of luck with school =)

Adam: my pen stopped working! i never got to use it! lol... love ya buddy. thanks for laughing at my jokes when no one else was paying attention! im glad to know that you were!

Crystal: don't "Navy" me .... lmfao. i'm really glad to have met you. you seem like a very smart girl. and very opinionated too! =) don't worry thats not a bad thing

Carla, Nikki, Jennifer, Rossana, and Jessica: unfortunately i did not have the opportunity to get to know you girls on an individual bases but i do wish you the best with your education.

Ken: you are awesome! i never got to talk to you ... mainly because you never talked but you play guitar and thats awesome! =)

Jonathan: my little cutie (lol) little rascals sign lol... your a unique individual .. that i must say. you made 1102 fun thats for sure. and yes i am sorry that i pointed you out during that group assignment about arguements when the girls were at the bar complaining about guys. i did not mean to make you a target. ... use protection when u TRA LA LA! love ya buddy! keep in touch!

oOo wait i forgot someone... arnold: even though u aren't in the 1:00 class your still pretty cool. love cars. love speeding. learning poker. lmfao and though i didn't really get to meet you in person you seem like a really cool person. hope to meet you soon!

and now my FIG FAM:

I am so happy to have met each and every one of you. most FIGs don't even remember the names of their peers. they never had study groups and were never as close as we are. Im glad that i was put in this fig and i wouldn't change it for the world. IT was so much fun last semester in lunsfords class and especially in swammy. =) ... be careful when you ride your bi-cycles. ... and always remember what "wersion" you had. lmfao... i know we'll keep in touch. im here if you ever need me. and that goes for everyone else too.

Noyra: ... noyra noyra noyra. so innocent! =) lol.. your so perfect!! its frustrating. have some drinks let loose! =) lol j.k. im going to miss you!

Gretel & Roberto: i know you guys are two seperate ppl but you guys are together so its just easier to post it as one! =) i wish you both the best of luck with your relationship. don't have kids just yet and don't forget me when you make wedding invitations! =)

Bianca: ima miss your laugh. you have one of those rare laughs that start from no where but has everyone laughing 2 seconds later. good luck with conrad.

Yeli belly: im going to miss you girly. i don't know what im going to do without u in my classes. hopefully we will though. keep me posted on the golden halo events .... you can definetly count me in! and i'll try to get more money for the club.

Danny: keep conducting your imaginary orchestra=) love ya!

Ruben: ... ruben ruben ruben! what will i do without u! after days of "where is the camera" "where is the power cord" "wrong format" ... im glad the project came out okay. thanks for everything. thanks for always backing up my crazy ideas. like the times when i was hyper and wanted to dance around the whole room or turn the chairs around. you were always the one instigating me to do worse things. THANKS!

Michelle: "MIIICCCCHHHEEELLLEEE" i love ya buddy. i had so much fun last semester with the Bible group. and im glad we had this class too. ima miss you... and don't foget about our cookies!

Nicole: my new drunky! we definetly gotta show u how to party miami style. =) i don't know what i'll do without u next semester! i love ya... happy early bday!

and now ... my dantes: peace sucka! yup thats it! no more! lmfao... j.k. even tasha pointed out that we fight for everything! ... i highly doubt that will ever stop! =) i love ya buddy! like a brother or a pet fish but its love none the less! thanks for always being there for me. with every heartache or every new stress, you have always stuck by my side. i really have no clue what i would do without you. and even though u bug the crap out of me i do appreciate everything that you've done for me and don' t you ever forget that im here for you no matter what. through thick and thin im here! =)


TASHA,

you are without a doubt my favorite teacher. without you i my writing would not be where it is today. You have taught me to think outside the box and be better a better writer. Thanks for always being there as a friend and a teacher and for putting up with my craziness. =) im glad we were put in your class for enc 1101. and i would have never thought that we would have gotten so close in a year. keep me posted on all the events and know that i will be there. with my hyperness fully charged! =) .... no more "shut up lola" ... or making everyone else believe that my name was lola. lmfao. no biggy i got used to it. well its not goodbye. its a c ya later because we all know that your going to teach another class for us to follow u to. =) right!?

if anything im here to help!

it has been a pleasure knowing all of you ... i will miss you all very dearly.

now lets party!!!!!

love ya -- la pequña LOLITA aka karen!

MWAH!


P.S. holy cow i just realized i forgot anthony: sorry buddy! you are such a unique and smart individual. you will be very successful in life ... i know it. thanks for coming dressed all snappy =) ... i felt singled out sometimes. and atleast i got to share my professional attire trait with someone else! =)

Spreading the Word...

Im not sure exactly how to write this blog but I do know that I need to find a way to spread the word about Teen Pregnancies. Simple things like donations, little sales, and car washes will start the donation process that will allow us to build our "teen mom relief center". We do not necessarily have to wait for the relief center to start helping teens. Myspace is a must in the teen world and taking full advantage of this would help our campaign. A catchy accronym is always a help. (Anothing comes to mind at this moment.)

The websites that Tasha posted up were really interesting. The first one was the one that has really stayed with me only because it has so much support from celebrities. Paramore is my sisters favorite band so im used to hearing them through out my house. Their target audience are mainly "Emo" kids who listen to their music so by having them there as a sponser they are helping prevent suicides amoungst the teenage community. The other two were not AS appealing to me. They were in the sense that they helped get a point across but nothing ever really stood out to me.

Skid Row

It was a good thing I watched these videos because this was a huge shock for me. After taking the initiative to watch ALL 5 videos, its hard to believe the overwhelming amount of homeless individuals living in the Los Angeles district alone. There is a rough estimate of 9,000 people living in a 50 block area including numerous drug dealers, sexual offenders, and war veterans. It takes videos like these to make our eyes aware of what goes on behind our naïve eyes. The majority of us live in a society where we have nice clothes and new cars therefore we do not see the need to stop and appreciate the things we have. These videos opened my eyes to see the reality of having nothing. People on skid row live on streets and make a living by selling drugs only to be used on buying more drugs for their own personal pleasure. The director appeals to your logic (logos) through his use of statistics. He also appeals to the audiences morals and values.

Video one was basically the introductory video to Skid Row. It summarize the many issues that occur on a daily basis and how the government have made false promises for this “prosperous” community. Skid Row is just miles away from the tall skyscrapers and the riches that is Rodeo Ave and what is primarily considered the real Los Angeles. Although, the video was not made to point out the racial differences; its undeniable that the majority of the homeless in skid row from the black community. This particular video was the first shock to me because I did not know that there were that many homeless people let alone the 9,000 plus individuals residing in Skid Row alone. I did not feel that the directors purpose was to manipulate us in any way. I think it was more to inform us of the reality in which we try to stay away from. Los Angeles is the top fist world cities in the nation yet it is also one of the top economies in the country.

Part two focused more on the kids in Skid row. The average age for a homeless child is 9 years old. Approximately 3.5 million are homeless and 1.5 of them being children. This video primarily focused on Franklin Arburtha which is one of the kids that has spoken on numerous talk shows about his experience as a homeless in Skid Row. To have been through all of that at such a young age must be life changing. It makes me stop and realize how spoiled I am. Children all over the world are sleeping on the streets not knowing when they will get a plate of food. This video hit me the hardest because innocent children are left to live such a horrible life at the expense of their parents mistakes. It disgust me because they have to live such horrible lives. They are probably caught up in this warped world where drugs, rape, and abuse is normal.

Part three talks about drugs. Drugs is a big part of the homeless community. For most of them it’s the reason why they are homeless. Skid Row is a 24/7 drug store where people can get drugs at any time and for a good price. Some the “rich” even come to Skid Row to purchase these drugs. Part four talks about the homeless connection to their religion. It was nice to see that even through the worst of times; the homeless still have faith in God and seek his guidance to get through life. Part five talked about the “after word”, which was basically the law enforcers and the governments response to the homeless. They talked about the conditions and how their false promises to help their community when in reality they are helping Skid Row by getting rid of the homeless. This video frustrated me the most because the government is avoiding the real issue. Homeless people have no place to go and by placing them in jails or getting rid of them they are not helping them.

AND THE WINNER IS....

ME! just kidding. Well, my class had to look at the 12' class and i must say. There was some pretty big competitions going on. Out of all the ones that I saw and read: I liked Arnold, Mike, and Steven.

1st- I really liked Arnolds "about me" (No there was no bias because I analyzed his paper). Basically from what i understood Arnold is a fun car and poker loving guy. His pictures and videos help us understand that. The spider man picture with the quote really caught my eye. Then the racing and the poker pictures helped his claim about who he is. I like a lot of the similar things so that may have helped me understand who he was a little better. Good job.... don't speed too much =)

2nd- Steven.... Um... yea. you can tell that he has a lot of personality. He seems very outgoing from what i read in his wiki and i've never even met him. He has pictures that proves his outgoing-ness and has a lot of visual evidence to show the type of person he is. It made me laugh.

3rd- I really liked Renata. She put a different flare by having her named spelled throughtout her writting. Her pictures shows that she is a very outgoing person. She stands for what she believes in and has learned from her experiences in NY. Her profile was very colorful and represented her very well.

Prison Song By System of A Down .. Analyzed by Arnold.

Hey Arnold,


I not a complete rock person but for some reason this song caught my attention. Well, actually the first song did but then i read this song and decided to write back. Your strongest points in the analysis was the way that you described the meaning behind the song. You analyzed certain quotes to see behind the obvious claim. To strengthen your analysis you should have discussed the music itself not just the lyrics. Who was the intended audience? Does System of a Down use ethos, logos, pathos as a way to graps their audience? What type of music is it? Your analytical perspective of the song was good but do not forget about the music itself. What is the overall tone of the song? How does it affect the way the music is being portrayed? There is so much more to an analysis than lyrics. But overall I understood the song a lot better. Grade wise i would give you a B+ or an A- since you did not discusse the claims, appeals that are used, voice, style, color & tone of language, audience, and context. Good Job though! =)

KAREN aka Lola

Pants Below the Waist .... That Rule Will Go To Waste

Technically, the government should not have any say on what we should wear. It says it on the Bill of Rights that we have freedom of expression. BUT I personally do not like seeing guys underwear. The whole point is to leave it to the imagination not to show the world. If it was meant to be seen it wouldn't be called UNDER wear. Just like speeding in Miami... no one will pay attention to this Law. At schools this might make sense. I went to a school were uniforms were mandatory and I had no problem with wearing uniform. Its not like back in the day were students had to wear the same shirt, same pants, same socks, and shoes. We have the right to add our own accessories to create some sort of individuality. At schools, this would be rather helpful As a law i think its stupid. NO ONE WILL LISTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Police officers would rather use their time trying to stop crime instead of looking for boys with their pants below their waist. As a tax payer, I would like to see my money go towards keeping my community safe from thieves and rapists than stupid little boys who like the breeze of in their boxers. This is also something that has been around for YEARS!! and a little law will not stop years of maladaptive behavior. You can't blame it on the parents. Now a days, Parents are just an child's ATM (no offense Tasha) but its true unless you were fortunate to get one of those lucky parents who actually care about their child. Parents practically have no say in what happens in their child's life. If parents were to tell their child to pull up their pants, most teens would just pull up their pants in front of their parents and pull them back down when they get to their friends, or storm off in an unneeded tantrum. The majority of the parents would rather just buy off their child so that they won't have to deal with them. Parents have given their child the liberty to do whatever they feel like from a young age and have no control over their child when they become older. People who wear their pants that low see this is music videos. Hip Hop artists made this "the style" a long time ago! Whether a child decides to wear a belt or not should be of no concern to the Government. What happened to the land of the free? Does the government not have anything else to do than to worry about how low boys pants are? Isn't there a war going on somewhere? I think that deserves more attention that this.

Why boys pants? What about the girls? I personally am not one to walk around short shorts and a bra. Girls, adult women, go to clubs in a mini skirt and a bra. You leave your undergarments for the honeymoon. Why is it okay for girls to walk around in basically a Bra and thong? Is the government biased? (it works towards my advantage but it still is not fair, must be since the majority of the government are GUYS! They like seeing girls practically nude) Girls walk around showing much more than guys do. Girls are constantly forgetting their belts and showing their butt cracks all around town... (CRACK KILLS!) Regardless of the situation it is not up to the government to dictate the clothing we should wear or the way we should wear them. If someone decides to wear their pants around their knees, thats there problem not the government! They should keep their eyes off boys pants and into whats important. I do not like seeing their under wear either but its not up to me to decide what others should do. Who am i to tell them to put up their pants?

FCAT ...

I have taken the FCAT numerous times and still have no clue why I am taking it. I knew that we had to prepare ourselves for it all year long but what was the real purpose.

Students that have not passed the FCAT can pass the SAT. I have seen it. The test is so ridiculous for those who are learning passed that grade level. After taking several AP english classes, the flimzy FCAT type essay is a joke. You don't need that type of essay in college. Teachers will laugh at you if you turn in an FCAT type essay as a term paper. First of all they are almost 5 times as long and take more analytical perspective that a normal FCAT essay. To analyze a book for college, you will definetly use more than 5 paragraphs that have more than 5 sentences in each. Students in publics schools are get Fs on their papers for writing more than they should. I personally had a teacher that only taught FCAT style. By my senior year, I was suppose to be writing term papers, senior thesis, and rhetorical analytical papers, not FCAT. You don't realize how behind you are until you enter college and see that FCAT is POINTLESS. Not one of the papers that i have written for ENC or any other class even come close to FCAT. They should be preparing us for college which is much tougher than the FCAT. (but thats just me.... i thought the FCAT was way to easy and bored me to death but i do understand that the FCAT is challenging to others)

"No Student Left Behind" until they reach college and end up realizing that they haven't learned a thing and end up dropping out of school and never reaching their dreams. The overachievers are bored for 2 weeks straight. The average students struggle enough to pass. Those who are stuggle to begin with, get a complementary two week stay at hell! Money Money Money. Both videos made a lot of sense to me. The first one speaks the truth. FCAT is just another lie made by the government. The second video i payed more attention to it. The lady made a lot of sense and proved her point in a very diplomatic way. It must be extreamly difficult for teachers to teach their specific curriculm when they are forced to teach FCAT for the majority of the time. The only time they actually get to teach their intended subject is in the two months after the FCAT. Financial incentives should not be the ultimate reason for having this test but instead it should be for the knowledge and the well-being of their students. ... if only the govenment understood that too!