Why Sour Sweet?

The novel that we are reading is titled Sour Sweet. But why? Why did Timothy Mo title this book Sour Sweet? I think that Timothy Mo titled this novel Sour Sweet because he wanted to represent Sweet and Sour which is a cooking methods originated from China, so he wanted to represent food since it is a main part of the book.  Also, I feel like Sour Sweet can also have to do with something being good, but at the same time it being bad. You get a little bit of both and just have to role with the punches. I feel like it is similar in the book when the characters go through times that are sour or rough, but also sweet and nice.

A Thought Provoking Question

In this book it shows an interesting bond between two sisters, Lily and Mui. Last class we discussed how Mui has a power over Lily because Mui is more immersed in Western culture now and has adapted faster. Mui found a new found skill and Lily was jealous and it would be catastrophic if Mui was better than Lily in something.

Even though Lily is older than Mui, she always seems to want to be better at things than Mui. Why do you think Lily is like that? Is it just her personality or is she hiding a fear that we can not see yet? Do you think that Lily has a harder time adapting to Western culture and is jealous of Mui that she can?

Halloween Special

This was taken on my first Halloween. Yes, I am the one in the lion costume :). This was taken with my two older sisters, Shea and Tate, who were the best big sisters. My mom told me that she dressed me up in a lion costume because my sisters were begging her to do it. My sisters were always so affectionate with me as you can see in this picture, so it was never hard for my mom to get us all together and smiling in a picture. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because I love dressing up and of course the candy is the best part. Now that I am older, I miss watching the movies on Disney Channel leading up to Halloween and getting all excited about my costume. Even though it is different now, Halloween is still my favorite.   

The Outsider Trying to Fit In

For this week, we were told to write about a time we have felt like an outsider. In my life, one time I can remember really clearly about feeling like an outsider is with my stepmom. My parents got divorced when I was about two years old, and my dad remarried to my stepmom about two years later. They had three children who are my adorable younger siblings: Elle, Ry, and Pax. I have always felt like an outsider when I go over to my dad's house with my stepmom and her kids because she is not as close with me as she is with them. I see how she takes care of them and is there for their every wish. For me, it is an awkward feeling because even though she is my family, she does not treat me as though I am her daughter. Sometimes I feel like my stepmom tries to be my mom in a way, but then I feel like she is trying to replace my mom and I don't like that either. When I really feel like an outsider is when people ask if these are all her children, and her response is always, "Yes, these three and she is my stepdaughter." Even though I am part of the family, I always still feel like I am the outsider not really fitting in.  

The Importance of Equality

I believe that equality is very important. Not only is it very fair and make everyone equal in this world, but it also sets a very good role model for what the next generation should be like. Marriage equality and race equality are a huge thing for me, that I strongly believe in. I think that no matter what people should be able to marry the person they love no matter what there gender is. One of our biggest problems today is race equality. Still people to this day are very racist and do not consider people of another race as equal to them. This is just not true, people with different races should have the same advantages and freedom as we do. We talked about the example of having too much equality in English class with the topic of little kids winningtrophies even though they did not "win." I think that kids should onlyrecieve trophies if they truly tried their hardest because then it will teach them to keep accomplishing their goals.

Are You Going to Stay or Leave?

    This past week in my English class we read a short story called, "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a story about how in this place if you want to be able to achieve happiness there must be one kid suffering. If you can not handle it you must leave Omelas and walk away. 
For me when I think of this story I face the same ethical choice when I think about animal cruelty. Animals are constantly being tested for makeup products and are being mistreated every day. The question is will people walk away and stop wearing makeup that is tested on animals or will they stay and not want to confront the truth. I have been a vegetarian now since I was in the fourth grade. For me, I can not stand the thought of killing an animal for food, when like me you can substitute meat for a different food and still get the same protein. I am always trying to find makeup companies that do not test their product on animals, but sometimes it is hard. I walked away from eating meat when I was very young and am still doing it to this day. It is hard when to decide to stay and when to walk away, and for me it is determining when enough is enough.

The Impact of Fear


    I believe that fear is with every single person. Even if they act tough, deep down we all have a fear of something. I completely agree with Glassner and Gerbner's argument. Media is a huge reason why our fear is this evident and strong. When on television there is stories about fear you are likely going to want to pay attention to that one instead of a happy news report. The media constantly is showing traumatic news reports convincing you that this world is not safe. We can't give fear that power to control our emotions and make us fearful. We have to think of happiness and not live everyday with something on our mind.
    Earlier this week, I read a story called "Once Upon A Time" by Nadine Gordimer. She creates a story that does not have a happy ending. The family in the story is so consumed about worrying about what they have to buy for protection against the outside world that they don't realize how much it is destroying them and their family. Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Lets not let fear hinder our lives. 

The Story from the Other Side Revised

Original: Telling the story from a female's point of view does impact the story in many ways and shows new leadership and way to see it from a different point of view. The fact that Persepolis is told from a female's point of view does impact the story.

Revised: When you hear the point of view from a female it completely changes your thought on that specific time or event in ways that females experienced different things then men did, including how they must act and dress. In addition, the fact that Persepolis is told from a female's point of view shows a new found leadership in women and that they are now able to tell there side of the story and become more independent and have more freedom.

In my first submission it was way to general and broad. I didn't get into detail on what I really thought and just put the points on the paper that I was trying to make. Reading over my first submission, I had mixed feelings on how I felt about it. I don't think it was terrible, but I think that I could've improved by not being as broad and being more specific. This experience will help me in the next in-class essay because I have now learned how to write a successful in-class essay by going more into details.

Thoughts on the Different Images

When I first glanced at the first picture I saw a group of women having fun and being happy with not a care in the world about what they dress or look like. In contrary, in the second image I see a group of women who seem distant, quiet, and separated from the rest of the world. To me, I see women who are unhappy and feel like an outsider. If I had grown up seeing the first image of Iranian women, my idea of Iran and Iranian women would be that they are happy and just like everyone else living their life in joy and being free. In my opinion, I do not benefit from seeing the second image, personally it makes me sad to think that that is in the media and that picture is the only thing children think of when they think about Iranian women. Although, I do think that our government benefits from it because they want us to see them like we do in the second picture. These images are both of the same people, culture, and religion, just a different time and place.

A Picture that Speaks to You

I have chosen this image to be the one image that speaks to me the most. This image to me is the definition of what life should be about; love and happiness. You can see in this image that the boy and girl have a bond of friendship that will last them for a lifetime, and they will never let each other go. This picture speaks to me and is more powerful than words for me because if they had just told me how good of friends they were I wouldn't have believed them until I saw it with my own eyes. This picture shows you that you should't care about the bad things in life and only look at the positives. By seeing images you feel the passion and emotion versus just reading them on a piece of paper which doesn't give the same effect. Although there are many other pictures that mean a lot to me, I choose this one because of its significance and impact.

Hello my name is Bren. This is my first blog post and I am excited to tell you my thoughts and experiences. I started school a couple days ago and I am just getting back into the groove of things and realizing that the summer has come to an end. I had a really great summer and a lot of cool experiences that I will remember and cherish forever. I am excited for this school year and I have prepared myself for the challenges that I am going to face. I am really excited to be back with all my friends and surrounded by people that make me happy. I am going to try hard this year and make it a good year. This blog is a time where I can write to you my journeys and experiences and what writing really means to me. I will express my opinions and thoughts throughout my blog posts. My family has definitely been through some hard times and we always seem to come back stronger from them and writing is something that helps me with that. This is important to me because I love writing what really means to me the most and getting to express my thoughts through words. I hope you enjoy my blog and I will be sure to write again soon.