Blog 21

I believe the topic in each poem is related to death. The son of the deceased parent is the speaker. They are speaking to their deceased parent. I believe in the Turquise poem, the speaker is trying to convey a sense of ambition to join the parent in the afterlife. He is also trying to convey the beauty of once was. In the Pride poem, I believe the speaker is trying to convey a sense of nostalgia, and the enlitenment of building pride in your nationality. I prefer the Turquoise poem. Its method of conveying beauty rough metaphors and comparisons is interesting. It is filled oddly with adventure in the way the speech flows in its figurative manner, including phrases like "I will follow her white way," and "I will ride the swiftest horse."

Blog 19

Victor and Thomas have been close most of their childhood life. It faded away in their mid teens and have stopped being as close, in fact, to the point Victor states they aren't really friends anymore. Their relationship may change greatly after their trip. During their trip they kept sharing a lot of stories from behind the scenes on what was going on their lives. It may be acceptable for them to not acknowledge their relationship in front of others due to them not talking in a long time. When time passes and you grow more distant, it's difficult to really show that you once used to be a big thing.

Blog 12

Mona has a hard time finding her place in school. She finds her way once she meets a boy named Sherman who is also Asian. They begin to like each other, and through him she finds her place in school. She was Chinese and he was Japanese. Her experience is that she learns that if she falls in love with someone who is going to move away, she will always be looking forward to heartbreak.

Blog 11

Kaitlin holds a grudge against her father. After being single for years, he decides to marry a Chinese woman without any input from her. He has always been upset about some trivial things. He is always cheap and dressed in worn out clothes. She has a mixture of happy and sometimes melancholy tone when she talks about her family. This can happen when families have much different personalities. If people found common ground, they can get a sense of relation and get along better.

Struggle to be an All American Girl

Children of any culture can find it difficult to relate to their parents on what may be the best for them. Parents historically seem pushy and are almost like aliens to children. They have such vast differences in their likings and personalities.

Children may also feel a disconnect to their parents' background and cultural differences, especially on a melting pot area. Their friends don't seem culturally similar to their parents.

Children can learn from their parents' experiences better by being more open minded. Their parents could also be more understanding of their youth and try to make their stories more interesting.

Without commercials inspired poem

You are you
You are a person
With thoughts and mind

You are not
A color of skin
Nor a gender

You are not
To be generalized
By anyone

You are you
With your uniqueness
You flourish

Like every other
Human being
You are one

Let America be America Again by Langston Hughes

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15609