Sohil's Story

 This week, while working on college essays, I realized the importance of having my own voice in my essays. I was reflecting back on an anecdote I was including and I began to feel tired. I was boring myself on my own essay! If I couldn't even get through my own essay, how could I expect someone else to, not only read it, but also enjoy it? The answer was I couldn't and I needed a solution. I scoured the internet hoping to find some tips on how to make my writing more interesting. The one answer that consistently turned up was that I needed to work on my voice. This reminded me of our breakout room, in which someone suggested to me that I work on "showing not telling". At the time, I thought that was good advice but I wasn't really sure how to implement it and eventually I forgot about it. Now I knew that in order to "show not tell" I would have to speak through my writing not just describe a situation objectively like a news report. But how would I do t...

 My choice book during silent reading time, Animal Farm , has made me research all the symbolism Orwell uses and its connection to the Russian Revolution. Every character has a purpose and every scene has meaning. Entertainment, such as Animal Farm , that has many layers to it is very rewarding. I expect some time in the future I will revisit Animal Farm and see what new messages I can take away from it. Layers are not exclusive to novels, however. Many movies, TV shows, albums, and even some video games have messages that make them enjoyable to watch, listen, or play to for many times. For example, one of my favorite albums, To Pimp a Butterfly, provides something new each time I listen to it. Lamar tells us a story through his lyrics, beginning as a caterpillar, breaking his cocoon, and flying away as a butterfly. Another example of a layered story is the movie Us  by Jordan Peele. On the surface its a very entertaining movie about surviving against your dopplegangers. Howev...

When most people ask "How are you?", "Nice to meet you?", and "Let's get in touch" they probably don't mean it. However, that doesn't mean these phrases are useless. Instead, they convey politeness and respect which are important in order to bring people together and form a community. There are many purposes for asking someone how they are doing or using any other greeting. In a casual setting, doing this can serve as a conversation starter. It shows the other person that you are concerned about them and strengthens the conversation. In a professional setting, a greeting such as "Nice to meet you" conveys shows what type of person you are. It creates a better first impression and makes the other person view you more warmly. This makes the other person view what you say after the greeting more positively. Furthermore, this simple greeting allows you to build rapport with the other person and allows you to have a stronger conver...

In the summer of 2017, I stared outside of a plane window. The world outside seemed very peaceful. We were above the clouds, and as far as I could see, the blue sky was outstretched. It was a very beautiful sight; there were no birds and the sky was the perfect shade of blue. Suddenly, my peace was ruined. The plane started to rattle and the other passengers became uneasy. The captain came on to the speaker to inform us that the plane was experiencing a bit of turbulence. He notified us that the seat belt sign was on and instructed us to fasten our seat belts. No one was allowed to leave their seats to go to the bathroom, or for any other reason. I thought back to the beginning of the flight when the flight attendants were educating us about safety on the plane. I realized that I, along with the other passengers, was not paying attention. When I looked out the window, the sky looked the same as before. Of course, you cannot see the wind and the sky still seemed to extend out fore...

In her essay Marrying Absurd, Joan Didion criticizes American society by using Las Vegas weddings to show American's naivety. At the beginning of the essay, Didion lists facts about Las Vegas weddings, such as "a bride must swear that she is eighteen or has parental permission". This begins a trend through the piece where the audience sees how absurd weddings are. The fact that she only has to swear she is eighteen, without providing any proof, makes the weddings seem unofficial. By saying "nothing else is required" Didion highlights how little requirements there are. She then tells us about the last day "anyone could improve his draft status merely by getting married". The quote she uses of Mr. James A. Brennan, where he brags about how fast he was able to marry couples, further contributes to the superficiality of the weddings. In this case, it appears that the only reason these couples are getting married is to avoid going to war. In the sec...

In Body Ritual Among the Nacirema , Horace Miner uses satire to examine the American culture. He does this by writing familiar actions that each of us does, in an unfamiliar way. For example, a "charm-box" is actually a medicine cabinet and a "holy-mouth-man" is just a dentist. Miner uses these weird names to show the audience of anthropologists that if we describe other culture's routines as peculiar, then they will appear peculiar to us. Even if the routines are as normal for them as going to the dentist is for us, we might see them as odd. The point of writing this piece is to show anthropologists that by looking at cultures from an outsider's perspective, the reason behind the custom is lost. This raises the question of how to study other cultures from the outside and truly understand the reasons behind the custom. The essay can also be seen to satirize American citizens. The essay portrays the rituals as a long, tedious process. It also states t...

     In Just Walk on By, by Brent Staples, we see the reactions that white women have while passing him on the street. Staples uses many anecdotes to show the number of times he scares a white woman. He also uses irony to demonstrate how foolish it is to mistake him for a mugger. For example, Staples describes himself as a softy who isn't able to hold a "knife to raw chicken - let alone hold it to a person's throat". However, people's reactions to him forces Staples to adapt. He has to whistle Vivaldi to put others at ease much like a "cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country".      This essay made me think of implicit bias which is the unconscious attribution of certain qualities to certain groups of people. I read the book Blink , by Malcolm Gladwell, during silent reading time last year, and in it, he describes how people are able to make decisions very quickly. One of the decisions that he analyzed was the association betwee...