No Man Is An Island

The texts of John Donne's poem No Man Is An Island, Armin Greder's The Island and Jason Van Gederen's Mankind Is No Island video poem all have similar themes such as equality, prejudice, and humanity. In Greder's The Island, the man is treated like an animal. He was forced to stay in a goat pen and he was absolutely dehumanized. In the poem No Man Is An Island, describes how every man is a part of the continent and should be treated equally. The video poem mentions "who do you love". All of these different themes are somehow portrayed in these three texts.

These texts each have a way of showing equality as one of their themes. In Greder's The Island, the people of town treat him like someone different. As if he's not even human, the townspeople aren't treating him equally. In John Donne's No Man Is An Island, he speaks a lot about being a part of the continent and how mankind should never be left alone. This suggests that everyone should be treated equally and no one should be left behind. "Your truth, your thinking, your inner spirit; no different to me." These words were in the video poem by Van Gederen. This implies, yet again that all of mankind should be treated equally and that no matter how different we are, we are all the same.

Another theme that is shown in all three of these texts is prejudice. In The Island, the people in town first see the naked man and immediately think of him as a threat. They didn't even bother asking about his life story or the reason why he's come. They assumed he was danger, which led them to start rumors and lies about this innocent man. This shows that they made snap-judgements and that the townspeople were really prejudice even thought they thought they were being nice by letting him stay. In John Donne's poem, he's saying that everyone is equal and there should be no prejudice. The video poem quotes "I walk by you today, I always look away". This suggests that people are being prejudice and they don't bother finding things out about anything before judging. In the modern world today, all around us there are many people being prejudice and soon enough, no one is going to care about another person other than themselves.

The final theme that is represented in these texts is humanity. Donne's poem suggests that we should treat everyone with humanity because everyone is part of the continent. The video version of that poem shows clips of beggars on the street and no one is giving them anything. "Do we measure empathy by donations?" The Island has a lot about humanity. Firstly, the people don't seem to have any humanity judging by the way they treated the man who appeared on their island. Also, the way they dressed and looked according to Greder's illustrations, they looked like beasts almost. Not exactly as beastly as the circus men in The Great Bear but they weren't far off.

These three texts each use different techniques to portray equality, prejudice and humanity. Poems, videos and a children's story book. Although these may not seem like big messages read literally but they actually have a deeper meaning to them. The Great Bear was an allegory about rights and respect, The Island was a way of showing how cruel and prejudice people can be. John Donne's writing is a poetic way of showing how people should act and how people should treat each other. The video poem was a tear jerking way of showing how prejudice people can be and how people aren't even sure of what they love now a days. "What is it we love today? Do we love the people or place?"

Kindness

Kindness is always positive. You can receive or give kindness. Kindness is an action that is nice and makes you or someone else feel good. It could also be something that someone else does to you. In some situations, people might think they’re being kind to someone but really, they aren’t. If you give someone your math homework, you might think you’re helping your friend out because you’re helping them get their homework done but what you’re really not helping them at all. If they copy your work, they won’t understand the method or concept of the math and they won’t succeed with their grades.

Can kindness be negative? I feel that kindness is always positive. Shouldn’t kindness be from the heart? If someone forces you to be kind, I feel that it’s not your act of kindness. It’s the person who told you do it. Can kindness have faults? You might think that you’re being kind to someone but they might find your action insulting. Perhaps it’s just the thought that counts? If you WANT to be kind, then whatever you’re doing, must be kindness.

Today, while everyone was getting their makeup done for the play, people were getting really nervous and they were complaining that their make up looked horrible. I encouraged them and said they looked fine. I feel that’s an act of kindness because I was complimenting people and gave them confidence in themselves. I made them feel good and as stated before, kindness is all about goodness and positivity.

Learning Profiles: Profile D

Last year, Mr. Whiting came into our humanities class to help us figure out our learning profiles. I found out that I was a learning profile A. This year, he came again and I've discovered that my learning profile has changed since then.

To figure out my learning profile, we had to find out which hand, foot, eye and ear was dominant. Last year, everything was the right side. But this year, my hand changed to left hand dominant. Just that minor difference changed my learning profile to D.

With a learning profile D, I learn best by focusing on visual and auditory details meaning that I listen and look carefully at what I'm learning. Also, I learn by analyzing meaning I make sure to look at every detail in what I'm learning. I like to do things in an orderly fashion, opposed to doing things all over the place, randomly. I need to see and hear details in order to learn.

My learning profile shows that I'm a left brain dominant learner meaning I'm a logic learner, opposed to gestalt learner. Logic learners need to focus more on the big idea, which is what gestalt learners do. I also need to improve with my ability to think with more variety.

Since my left hand is dominant, (although I'm right handed), it is connected to the gestalt side of the brain which causes me to need to use my hands to learn. Another thing that might help is sitting in the back of the classroom where I can doodle without disturbing the rest of the class.

Although my learning profile recommends that I doodle, I find that doodling doesn't really help me. A lot of the time, I just have something in my hands to fidget around with. I like to be organized so I can learn efficiently. When I'm under stress, I might have difficulty to communicate details logically in a verbal or written way.

We Love Libraries!

Libraries are beautiful places. You get to read, use computers and research, all for free. If people took libraries away from us, many people wouldn't be able to do many things. A lot of people don't have access to books or internet in their homes so they go to the local library to do their research, work or homework. In the UK, many libraries are being shut down and people aren't pleased with that. People should be able to have access to free computers and books because some people may not be able to afford buying them themselves.

Books help people learn a lot and help people in life. Without books, students don't have access to a lot of information that they might need. Some schools might not be rich enough to have computers for their students. They might not even have their own library so they would have to go to a public library. If people close down the libraries, what would those unfortunate schools do?

In the UK, people found anonymous sculptures carved out of books as a protest towards the shutting down of libraries. A lot of people are unhappy with what people are doing and they are doing what they can to make themselves heard. This anonymous artist left the beautiful works of art everywhere around the library with tiny messages on them. They were very poetic and meaningful but the artist didn't take any credit for them.

I believe that people really need books and libraries not only for educational and work purposes but some people who really love reading, love the library and people can't just take it away from others. Some people who don't want to spend money on books for themselves go to the library to borrow them for free. People would have to spend a lot more money on books without the libraries and if people don't want to. They wouldn't be able to fulfill their crave for books without libraries.

Objects as Adjectives

If you asked me to describe myself in three items, I don’t know which 3 I would use because so many things can represent me! We had the option to do up to 5 items and since I didn’t know what to choose, I decided to use 5 items instead of 3. I chose to use my favorite childhood book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, my passport, my dogs, my collection of Converse and my headphones for multiple reasons. I love reading, traveling, dogs, converse and music! I hope after you read this, you’ll understand why I love these things and maybe you’ll learn to love them too!


First off, I love reading. Not only does this book represent a lot of childhood memories, it also shows my passion for reading. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, is my first item because when I was younger and I couldn’t sleep, my mom would read this book to me. I remember sitting next to her on the bed and I would listen to her read. While she was reading the book to me, I would spot all the items that the author was referring to such as “a comb, a brush and a bowl full of mush.” As my mom was reading, I’d think that this book was sad because when I was little, I never liked to sleep at night and sometimes, I still don’t. Not that I don’t enjoy sleeping, I just never liked sleeping at night. I would say goodnight to everything in the book in my mind and as my mom finished reading the book, I remember my heart dropping. It was time to go to sleep. I don’t understand why I never liked sleeping. I guess I just wanted to stay up all day and night, playing or doing something fun instead of laying in bed, sleeping. My mom would make me warm milk if I couldn’t sleep and she still does it now, if I can’t sleep. Anyway, back to the book. This book holds a lot of childhood memories and when I look back to them now, I get this tingly feeling in my stomach and I feel like I’m a kid again and I like it.


Traveling. I absolutely love going to new places to discover what there is to see in foreign countries. I travel so much that I’ve had to get pages added to my passport! In 4th grade, my mom asked my teacher permission for me to miss a few weeks in school to go to London. He replied, saying that going to different places was a wonderful chance to learn. After he said that, I realized that going on holiday wasn’t just about having a good time in another country but it was an opportunity to be educated about a new place. When we went to London, we went to the museum and I learned so much! Traveling has become a part of my life and I’ve been traveling since I was little! We go to Hong Kong a few times a year and every time we go, I learn something new. I have loved every single place that I’ve visited and I can’t wait to do some more exploring! Not only do I love traveling but this passport proves that I really am American! A lot of my friends ask me if I really am American. For some reason, they don’t believe me. I was originally born in America and I lived there until I was about 6 or 7 then I moved to Kuala Lumpur. I like to call myself American but my whole family is Chinese. To make things clear, my nationality is American but the things I do are more towards the Chinese culture, not American. But my personality is more American. I talk like an American and I don’t have any accent. At least I don’t think I do? My passport is a very big part of my life and without it, I would be so bored! I wouldn’t be able to travel all over the world and I would be stuck in one country forever!


Why dogs, you ask? There’s more than “They’re so cute and cuddly!” When I still lived in America, my mom and dad were dog and cat groomers! They both worked in a grooming shop but then they started their own MOBILE grooming company. We had a van and it had a little grooming room. We would go to people’s houses and groom their dogs or cats in the back of our van! My family had a cat and dog at home and when I was born and my mom brought me home, she said our dog tried to protect my mom and she wasn’t so sure about me. Then, as she got used to me, she learned to love and protect me. I grew up pretty much surrounded by dogs so I love dogs. My dog and cat both died when I was 3 and since then, I’ve always wanted a dog. It took a while to convince my mom to get a dog in Malaysia. Mini, the white and black dog was adopted from someone. Their friend was moving away so they gave it to the person we adopted her from and that person had 2 other dogs and they didn’t like her so she gave her to me! The other dog was also adopted but from a different person. This person was a family friend’s son’s dog and he was at work too much and he couldn’t take care of the dog so he was looking for a new owner and my mom asked if I wanted another dog and of course I said yes! Dogs have become a HUGE part of my life and I plan on keeping it that way.


You’re probably wondering why I chose shoes. Shoes may not be a big deal for you, but to me, SHOES ARE AMAZING! Not only do I love shoes, I’m absolutely obsessed with Converse. It all started in 5th grade. I joined circus arts and it was required to have Converse. They could be fake but it didn’t really matter. I preferred to buy the real ones because the real Converse were better quality and there were designs that were more appealing rather than just a plain, dull color. I have a total of 7 pairs of Converse. One of them go up to just below the knee, 2 are the ones that go up to your ankle and the rest are just the normal ones. I like Converse because it suits my style. The thing about me is that I’m girly but there’s still a tom boy part of me and Converse are neither girly nor tom boy so I love them! I suppose you could say that Converse has become a part of my style.


Music. I’m not exaggerating when I say music is my life. Basically, my life revolves around music. Everything I do, I relate to music. When I’m in class, I often find myself tapping my foot or shaking my leg to a beat. I love singing and dancing and without music, I couldn’t do either. Whenever we have the learning profile tests or how we learn best, I always end up with a high score of a musical learner. Even though I’m not the best singer, in fact, I can’t sing at all, I still love it because singing helps me express myself. Same with dancing. I’ve always wanted to sing and dance. Even though almost every little girl wants to be a singer or dancer, I’m actually serious. I take singing and dancing very seriously and I hope one day I can do something in life with it! I listen to music very, very often. It’s pretty amazing how I don’t get tired of listening to music. My iPod means a lot to me because whenever I feel sad, happy, angry or even tired, I just take out my iPod and it makes me feel better, or happier or I fall asleep listening to music. I’ve found that I fall asleep easily when listening to music. I believe without music, my life would be miserable. That’s why I love music so much!

So now not only do you know what’s important TO me, but you now know more ABOUT me! These items are very important to me and I don’t know what I would do without them. I probably wouldn’t last long without these items. I would have taken a picture of my computer but the maximum was only 5 items. Also, my computer is getting fixed so I’m using my mom’s. My computer is also a VERY big part of my life. Firstly, because a lot of things in life now require a computer but also because I’m very into social networking. I’ve listened to all the lessons about being safe on the internet and I take it all to mind. I try to stay very safe and I don’t share personal information. Also, without my computer, I probably couldn’t survive. I also use my computer for music. I have iTunes on there so I listen to music from there too. I could go on forever, telling you why my computer is so important to me but then I would end up writing a book! To sum things up, I think everyone has different opinions and everyone depends on different things. For me, the items that I listed above are what I depend on and some might not agree but it’s my opinion. Right?

What's My Name?

If I said I was named after a dog, would you think I’m crazy? Well, go ahead and think what you want because, guess what? I was named after a dog. When we lived in Boston, my parents were dog and cat groomers. One day, my mom was grooming a cute, fluffy shih tzu, the same color as my shih tzu now. Fascinated by the dog’s name, she asked her colleges if it was a girl’s name. Delighted with their answer, she named me Cheyenne.

“Unintelligible speaker”. How could my name possibly mean unintelligible speaker? Am I truly that hard to understand? I must admit, I talk a lot, but people hear me clearly, right? This is one of the reasons why I think my name doesn’t suit me. If there was a name that meant “Chatterbox”, perhaps that’s what my name should be!

Comparing myself and my name makes me queasy. Cheyenne, a graceful, elegant sounding name. I’m anything BUT graceful or elegant. I like the name Cheyenne, but it doesn’t quite suit my personality. I have mainly, two personalities, one which I clip up my hair and dress very properly, and the other, where I just throw my hair into a pony tail and wear a shirt and shorts. When I think about it, Cheyenne seems like a name for a beautiful, rich girl that everyone knows and loves. Not at all what I’m like.

When I say the name Cheyenne, it gives me a calm, cool feeling. Like a relaxing day at the beach, lolling in the sand by the majestic blue water, watching the beautiful sunset. There are exceptions, though. If you say my name wrong, it would sound worse than the wicked witch of a teacher’s long, claws on the chalkboard. A lot of people don’t know how to pronounce my name. Sometimes they say: CHeeyeenee, CHeyeen or Cheeyen. I find it surprising that people, even from America can get it wrong, knowing that there’s a city in Wyoming called Cheyenne. It really annoys me that I have to tell people over and over again, how to say my name. Can’t someone just GET IT RIGHT?

The letters of my name make it unique. There are quite a few Cheyennes in the world... but they’re most likely spelled differently. Either Cheyanne or maybe even Shianne. After all, there’s a world of possibilities. I’m quite fond of all the letters of my name because they tie it together. The letters individually are quite nice too. Except for the C. It’s so bland and boring. When I try to find a signature, I can never figure out what to do with the C. It’s like a barren desert. No one there to keep it company, nothing to make it interesting. Absolute emptiness. At least there’s only one C in my name. Then we get to the Y. That’s most likely my favorite letter of my name. It makes me feel... bouncy. Whenever I write the letter Y, I always write it with a spring. If the bottom part isn’t curly and springy, the top is super round and makes me feel like shooting up from my seat, like a Jack-In-The-Box. Y. Yellow. Happiness.

All my friends have nicknames, but do I? No. The only nicknames I’ve had were my initials, CT, given to me by Mr. Sheflin, my sixth grade math and science teacher. My other nickname, which I really HATE, was given to me by my friends in America, Chey-Chey. (Shy-Shy) No one even bothered to come up with anything better, and I learned to deal with it. I used to think it was funny when people said CEEH TEEH! because Mr. Sheflin would always exaggerate things. It reminded me of him, one of my favorite teachers.

When I think about it, maybe I’m not supposed to have a nickname. Maybe it was all a plan. Maybe, my name meaning “unintelligible speaker”, was all a plan to get me to stop talking so constantly in class. Perhaps. but who knows?

Live Your Life To The Fullest

I chose the quote: "You should live every day like it's your last day because one day you're gonna be right." ~Ray Charles~ because I feel that it's very important to live your life well. We only have one life and life is too short to waste. If you waste precious time of your life doing drugs, drinking or smoking, you'll then realize, when you're dying, that you shouldn't have wasted your life like that and you could have lived longer. You only realize what you've lost, after you loose it.

Life is so valuable. That's also the reason I smile so much. I feel if you waste too much time being depressed or unhappy, you are loosing precious seconds of your life and instead of doing that, you should smile and have a good time!

Another reason why I chose this quote is because you should never think you'll never be right. Not only should you live your life well, but you should always remember that you're always right in some way. A lot of people in the world live in misery and think that no one notices them and they have such low self esteem that they don't believe in themselves. I feel that it's very important to know that people do care for you and you ARE right about somethings!

Basically, I just feel that we should "Live like we're dying" because happiness and life is just so important to me and I hope everyone sees how important life really is!