personal statement

    I came from a place where my parents had supported me when I was little. Although they had enough money to support me, my family came from a poor background and had to give up a majority of their life away in order to do this. To get to where they are today, they had to sacrifice much time and effort to work. My mother and father were first farmers at a young age. Although they did not meet each other yet, they had a similar past. They worked day and night in order to support the family and the farm. They sold their crops in the city as their only way  to earn any money and they were lucky if to eat anything. Fortunately, my parents were able to go to school. Their motive was to work hard and break the family line of poverty.

From the moment I was born, they continued to support me even when I was bothersome. They dedicated their life to make me a success. They placed me in extracurricular activities and put me in tutoring programs.

I dedicated myself into finishing these programs. The first program that they placed me in was a Chinese school in Kindergarten. I, at first regretted it but I soon knew why they did that. My parents wanted me to study my native language so that I would not lose it while I go to English Class. I regretted it at first because I did not want to dedicated any more of my time to work on another subject. In the end, I completed it and graduated. Along the way, I was able to get some prizes for my speeches and in prizes of handwriting. I enjoyed writing my language and speaking my language. With every stroke of the fur brush, I was slowly able to connect to my native culture but I also knew that the Chinese language has over tens of thousands of characters.

The second program that I am still currently in is an Orchestra where I learn how to play Chinese instruments in Second Grade. I first wanted to join because I enjoyed listening to music and wanted to learn how to play it as well. I dedicated myself to learning it. I enjoyed the years learning to play the music. Currently, I play the Ruan which is similar to a guitar but it is held upright. Recently, I played in concerts in Skyline High in April and soon I will be in Washington, D.C. to perform in the World’s Children’s Fair in Mid- June. I am so excited for that. I have never been outside of California except when I had went to China when I was a toddler. I also look forward to playing on stage and meeting the president.

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Hopefully, that job would be a pharmacist. A pharmacist degree requires a lot studying and I am willing to dedicate my life in doing so just like how my mother had dedicated her life to support her family and break the poverty line. I would also like to become a pharmacist because I want to study medicine. I want to learn about the chemistry about medicine and about how each different medicine affects an individual. I would also like to develop medicine that limits the amount of side effects. I have heard so much about drowsiness and liver failure in medicine that I would like for that to be limited.

I would also like to find a cure for strokes and Alzheimer's disease because both of my grandparents had suffered from it. My grandmother had died from a stroke not long ago. That was the second time that she has had one. Till this day, I continue to miss her. My grandfather is still alive but is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He has a limited ability to think and sometimes forget everything. My grandfather knows who I am but forgot my name and who I was before he had suffered from the disease.

I wanted to become a pharmacist because of my parents and my grandparents. I want to develop cures and save the community or even the world of illnesses. I want to rid the medicine of side effects. Most importantly, I want to pay back my parents so that they would enjoy the rest of their lives enjoying the luxuries that they want. I want to support my family and prevent them for suffering like my parents. I do not want my children to starve and I would like them to enjoy their life as well.

FINAL FINAL BOOK review

Two weeks ago, I had finished reading the book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. It was a great book to read. I enjoyed the plot and even the setting of the book. I would recommend everyone to read this book. It shows what could happen in the future if democracy were to fail. It also discusses about the new technology. I would like to have that type of technology today except for the super weapons. One of the technologies allowed people to have food whenever they like. I would totally love that in my house. Besides this book, there is also a series and I hope to find the time to read that as well.
    The book was rather suspenseful. “The Hunger Games” takes place about 100 years after the United States had fallen apart. Instead of a democracy, it becomes more of a totalitarian government. The U.S. is separated into twelve districts. Every year, two children (ages 12-18 and of opposite sex) are chosen at random from each district to act as a tribute, where they have to kill each other in an arena until one stands. One year, the main character’s sister, Primrose is picked to be a tribute but the main character, Katniss volunteers to take her place. The other selected person in her district, Peeta also is selected to be a tribute as well. During the fights for survival, Peeta and Katniss acted as lovers but Peeta really liked her. In the end, this act helped them both survive.
    Although this was an amazing book, it had a dull birth. It turns out that Suzanne Collins had got this idea from different sources. The main spark of writing the book was when she was surfing the channels and she happened to cross by a reality show of two people competing and the Iraq War. She basically blended the ideas and created the idea of children fighting to death. The Greek myth of Theseus also inspired her book and that is what Katniss, the main character is currently similar to. She also learned to feel the fear the loss of a loved one from her father because he served in the Vietnam War. The author's life isn't really reflected in the story. It was more of an idea that came up. I guess this also answers my next question what was the purpose of his writing this book. The reason why Suzanne Collins wrote her book was because she wanted to get the idea out of her mind and express it in her book and also to entertain her readers. She did not really have a life story reflected upon this book. It was more of an idea that had come up and was configured into a book.
    The final question that I would like to answer is if there were any flaws in the book. Well, it was such an amazing book that I had barely saw any of them but I had found some in the end. The first flaw that I would like to point out is that it is rather slow. I understand that yes, not everyone dies all at once but its just too much. There are parts such as when she was running to her sister when she was picked. There was just too much detail. Yes, it was a major section in the book but it is just too emphasized. I think that everyone gets the point. The second point that I would like to point out is the cliches in the beginning of the book. In the beginning of the book, it states: "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold My fingers stretched out, seeking Prim's warmth... This is the day of the reaping." (Collins 9) I guess that this quote might be able to prove both my points. Within the quote, it shows that the introduction was slow and there was too much description. The story continues on for two pages in my book about how she got out of bed and soon left for the woods to hunt with a friend. It became rather boring when I had first read it. Now moving back to the point of cliches. I thought it was sort of a cliche because it started out in a fine moment, meaning like that they didn't really do anything. There was the reaping, but the reader does not know what it is. They should at least explain it somewhere close to that time. Maybe I thought that it was a cliche because I have read too many books or watched too many movies where they start off as the main character sleeping and waking up. Other than that, I find the book perfectly fine the way it is. This book is actually a great book but only if you continue to read on the series because the ending wants you to read the next book.

Peer Review Comments

For Amber:

The introduction is clear but I am confused by the part about how they come together. Could you cite some examples? Also, I would like to know more about the fire and what it symbolizes. How do they die when they first meet? I would also like to know whether the green gem was always the same. In the Reincarnation paragraph, explain how it is actually encouraged.

For Jay:
For your introduction,I think that you should at least put a brief summary in what is the book is about. In some parts, I feel that it is sort of redundant and those parts could be taken out. You also need evidence (put some quotes). You have many short paragraphs, I believe that some of them could be combined and some are of similar ideas and commentary. I think you also need to explain more on theme. It is not clear to me.

For Alex:
In the introduction, there were some parts of it that were wrong. I insist that you read over your introduction. I agree with Jasiu where you needed more evidence. I like some of your quotes but the commentary is sometimes repetitive of the quote. Put of more of your opinions in there if you would like. I would also like to comment that sometimes, the paragraph might be distracted or it goes off topic. 

The Hunger Games final book review

Two weeks ago, I had finished reading the book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. It was a great book to read. I enjoyed the plot and even the setting of the book. I would recommend everyone to read this book. It shows what could happen in the future if democracy were to fail. It also discusses about the new technology. I would like to have that type of technology today except for the super weapons. One of the technologies allowed people to have food whenever they like. I would totally love that in my house. Besides this book, there is also a series and I hope to find the time to read that as well.
    The book was rather suspenseful. “The Hunger Games” takes place about 100 years after the United States had fallen apart. Instead of a democracy, it becomes more of a totalitarian government. The U.S. is separated into twelve districts. Every year, two children (ages 12-18 and of opposite sex) are chosen at random from each district to act as a tribute, where they have to kill each other in an arena until one stands. One year, the main character’s sister, Primrose is picked to be a tribute but the main character, Katniss volunteers to take her place. The other selected person in her district, Peeta also is selected to be a tribute as well. During the fights for survival, Peeta and Katniss acted as lovers but Peeta really liked her. In the end, this act helped them both survive.
    Although this was an amazing book, it had a dull birth. It turns out that Suzanne Collins had got this idea from different sources. The main spark of writing the book was when she was surfing the channels and she happened to cross by a reality show of two people competing and the Iraq War. She basically blended the ideas and created the idea of children fighting to death. The Greek myth of Theseus also inspired her book and that is what Katniss, the main character is currently similar to. She also learned to feel the fear the loss of a loved one from her father because he served in the Vietnam War. The author's life isn't really reflected in the story. It was more of an idea that came up. I guess this also answers my next question what was the purpose of his writing this book. The reason why Suzanne Collins wrote her book was because she wanted to get the idea out of her mind and express it in her book and also to entertain her readers. She did not really have a life story reflected upon this book. It was more of an idea that had come up and was configured into a book.
    The final question that I would like to answer is if there were any flaws in the book. Well, it was such an amazing book that I had barely saw any of them but I had found some in the end. The first flaw that I would like to point out is that it is rather slow. I understand that yes, not everyone dies all at once but its just too much. There are parts such as when she was running to her sister when she was picked. There was just too much detail. Yes, it was a major section in the book but it is just too emphasized. I think that everyone gets the point. The second point that I would like to point out is the cliches in the beginning of the book. In the beginning of the book, it states: "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold My fingers stretched out, seeking Prim's warmth... This is the day of the reaping." (Collins 9) I guess that this quote might be able to prove both my points. Within the quote, it shows that the introduction was slow and there was too much description. The story continues on for two pages in my book about how she got out of bed and soon left for the woods to hunt with a friend. It became rather boring when I had first read it. Now moving back to the point of cliches. I thought it was sort of a cliche because it started out in a fine moment, meaning like that they didn't really do anything. There was the reaping, but the reader does not know what it is. They should at least explain it somewhere close to that time. Maybe I thought that it was a cliche because I have read too many books or watched too many movies where they start off as the main character sleeping and waking up. Other than that, I find the book perfectly fine the way it is. This book is actually a great book but only if you continue to read on the series because the ending wants you to read the next book.

The Hunger Games final book review

Yay, I finally finished the book that I am reading for my English class called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I enjoyed reading the book and will continue reading the rest of the series over Spring Break next week. Although I enjoyed reading this book, there are still some flaws that I see in this book.

The first flaw that I would like to point out is that it is rather slow. I understand that yes, not everyone dies all at once but its just too much. There are parts such as when she was running to her sister when she was picked. There was just too much detail. Yes, it was a major section in the book but it is just too emphasized. I think that everyone gets the point.

The second point that I would like to point out is the cliches in the beginning of the book. In the beginning of the book, it states,

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold My fingers stretched out, seeking Prim's warmth... This is the day of the reaping." (Collins 9)

I guess that this quote might be able to prove both my points. Within the quote, it shows that the introduction was slow and there was too much description. The story continues on for two pages in my book about how she got out of bed and soon left for the woods to hunt with a friend. It became rather boring when I had first read it. Now moving back to the point of cliches. I thought it was sort of a cliche because it started out in a fine moment, meaning like that they didn't really do anything. There was the reaping, but the reader does not know what it is. They should at least explain it somewhere close to that time. Maybe I thought that it was a cliche because I have read too many books or watched too many movies where they start off as the main character sleeping and waking up.

Other than that, I find the book perfectly fine the way it is. This book is actually a great book but only if you continue to read on the series because the ending wants you to read the next book.

The Hunger Games book review

Currently in class, I am reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book so far is rather interesting and I actually read ahead. I enjoy reading this book and would suggest this book to everyone of any age but those that really don't like reading violence should take this as a precaution. At the section where I last read, it was a tragic end to a sweet character in the book but a fierce beginning for the main character.

The book's setting is in a distant future in North America. The government seems to be a monarchy because they force 2 teenagers presumable aged 12-18 from each district each to fight to the death in the wilderness. They, by the way, are chosen at random but it has to be one boy and one girl. The tributes, as they are called, have to help themselves to hunt for game and find water with the limited amount of supplies that they have. At least they are able to get weapons to protect themselves. The tributes also could have sponsors (unlimited) that support them by sending them materials that they need. I feel bad for the children that have to go and risk their lives. The main reason that they do the fights every year is because the Capitol or the government wants to send a message to the public that they are in control even of children. This is so wrong. 

In the present, if the government were to do this, many people would rebel and take over as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the people at that time were not able to do that. The Capitol have extremely advanced technology. They were able to blow up any district that they wanted in a matter of days. They had mockingjays, which were a mixture of jabberjays and mocking birds, that were able to mimick anything that comes from a person's mouth. They were the spies of the government. 

After looking at how the book came to be, I was amazed. It turns out that Suzanne Collins had got this idea from different sources. The main spark of writing the book was when she was surfing the channels and she happened to cross by a reality show of two people competing and the Iraq War. She basically blended the ideas and created the idea of children fighting to death. The Greek myth of Theseus also inspired her book and that is what Katniss, the main character is currently similar to. She also learned to feel the fear the loss of a loved one from her father because he served in the Vietnam War. The author's life isn't really reflected in the story. It was more of an idea that came up. 

A great man, always a great man

I know that this post is still late considering the fact that Mr. Daniel Sousa had died a week. So, I'm taking the time now to dedicate this post to him and sharing my story about him.

Mr. Daniel Sousa... What can I say about him? Starting a few weeks after my freshman year at ASTI had started, Mr. Sousa came to ASTI to be our Physical Education teacher. In the beginning, I was like, wow he seems like a rather old guy, he might not be able to keep up with us. He told us that he was 89 but I knew that couldn't be true because he didn't even have gray hair yet. From that first impression, I knew that he was going to be a nice person.

In fact, my first impression was rather correct. Mr. Sousa was not only a nice guy, he was AMAZING. He first came to ASTI from Santa Cruz. He had lived from such a far distance. Nevertheless, he was willing to come everyday. He never missed days unless it was really important.  He understood everyone and never gave up on us. Yes, occasionally he might say a few swear words but these days, it seems necessary to do so in order to get attention from young adults. Mr. Sousa always pushed us to do our best and keep us active. He believed that P.E. was a time for relaxation since our class was in the afternoon. Last year, he allowed students to study for tests because he wants his students to be at their best. He gave us "free Fridays" where students were able to do what had wanted to do.  He knows that its the end of the week and that we students want to rest and enjoy the upcoming weekend. He allows us to use P.E. as a transition to it.

I truly miss Mr. Sousa as a teacher and as a great person. I wish that he could have lived till what he would have thought would be a good age to end life in.

Family History connections

After reading the family history blog posts, I thought that many of them were rather interesting. I pattern that I commonly saw was the pattern of some parent suffering in a certain type of way.

In Kristine's blog post, she talks about her mother's life and how she had suffering in her family. Kristine quotes from her mother:

"[My Brother and sister] looked down on me and wouldn’t treat me as in equal. Even my younger brother and sister looked at me as a lower person despite the traditions of respecting your elders. Still, I think it was the influence my dad had on them. They saw how my parents treated me and came with the thoughts that it would be ok to treat me horribly as my parents did." - Kristine Chin

In this quote, Kristine's mother says that throughout her young life, she was being mistreated by her family; even her younger siblings. As a method of escaping such tragedy, she decided to move out and attend college. She continued to life happily away from her family.

In Camal's blog post, he talks about the suffering of his father and some other person named Tom in the heavy rain. In his blog, he states that the rain was so heavy that they needed to get home as quickly as possible. On their way home, there were many obstacles. The final one that had blocked their way home was a four feet deep water that crossed between them and their home. So in the end they waited until the rain stopped and arrived home by crossing the river when the current was not as strong. Basically, in Camal's family story, it discusses about his father's suffering to get home.

In Shiyun's family history blog post, she talks about her mother's life. In her mother's life, Shiyun talks about how much work that her mother endured to continue to live on along with her family. In her blog post, she states:

"My mom would wake up at seven in the morning and head to school. When she comes back, she would be asked to do chores by her parents. Each of her siblings were assigned to do a different job. My mom had to take trips to the wells or to faucets to gather water for the family. For each bucket they got, they had to pay a cent. Back in the day, they had no access of water at homes. My mom took care of the water and took many trips back and forth from the well until she had eight buckets full of water. Water would be boiled up to take baths with, but most of the time they had to take cold water. When she comes comes back from school, she doesn’t have much time to do her homework. Most of the time, she just did whatever she was told to do...." - Shiyun

 Here, her mother is suffering because she stays home most of the time. She has rarely any freedom because she was being told what to do. She has to do chores around the home because her family members are working at jobs so she has to contribute to the family by doing so.

The connection reveals that we should appreciate what our parents are doing for us. In order to have a successful future. A person needs to be motivated into doing so and is willing to put in as much effort as possible.

Cycles in the Joy Luck Club

In "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tam, it includes interesting stories from four different families. Within the book, there are cycles. Some noticeable cycles are the changes where the mother and daughter tells the stories and how the stories connect with one another in some way. Well, I feel that one of the most important cycles in the book is about the connections between stories. The main example that I would be providing is the chess game story.

The chess game story first begins in Rules of the Game on page 89 and ends at page 101. In this section of the book, it first introduces Waverly Jong. It talks about her rise to fame. She begins first as a minor player in the streets. As time progresses, Waverly begins to study chess and began to beat others. She begins entering tournaments and began winning. Waverly began getting what she had wanted from her parents. As time progresses, her mother, Lindo Jong, begins to brag about her daughter in public. Soon, Waverly runs away but comes back when she was tired. In the end of that chapter, her family ignores her and she doesn't know what to do. Here, Waverly earns respect from her family by being a success but her family expresses it in a way that Waverly isn't comfortable with. As a result, she through her support away until there wasn't any left.

The chess story of Waverly Jong continues with Four Directions which comes later in the book. In this section, it continues the chess game story from the beginning in brief statements and focuses what happened after she quit. After quitting, she tried to scare her mother to beg her to come back to playing chess. Knowing that her plan failed, Waverly began to play chess again but the mother says that she could not just come play chess whenever she wanted to. While she continued playing chess, she began to lose and her confidence fell. When she was beat by a boy whom she had defeated a long time ago, Waverly quit. After knowing that her plan had failed, she wanted to gain back her mother's support. She didn't want to feel separated from her family furthermore. Nevertheless, after hearing her mother's statement about how she couldn't become who that she was before, she began to lose confidence and quit because she knew that playing chess couldn't change the past. The damage has been done and cannot be reversed.

Family Story

        During the past two weeks I have been asking my mother about whether there were any stories there were to share. Unfortunately, she told me more about her history and what her family in China was like. She told me that her family were farmers and how she had to struggle in her younger years of her life.
When she was still a child, my mother would be working on the farm to support her family while the rest of her older brothers and sisters would be attending school. She didn’t go to school yet because she thought that supporting the family would be more important than and education. At home, she would do chores around the house and cook for the family. At age 8, she had finally attended school. She was a clever student and was one of the first students in the family to attend college at China. She was ranked number eighth when she graduated from college. After graduation, she became a teacher at a school near home.
Nevertheless, my mother didn’t explain much to me. Then, just two days before the rough draft was due, I asked my father whether there were any stories about previous generations. Within a few seconds, he began talking about my great grandfather. Turns out, he was an important member of the family. All this time, I was asking my mother when I should have been asking my father. I never knew that he would tell me something that I was curious about.
My great grandfather was an important person, but not so important that he made it in the history books or in a museum. Throughout his lifetime, he had a wealthy lifestyle. He owned a share of a large vessel that transported people from Hong Kong to Canton. He started two Chinese herbal drug stores, one in Hong Kong and one in Oregon that are still in existence today. The drug store in Oregon is currently owned by my father’s second cousin. My great grandfather was a businessman at some times of his life. He had a job in Hong Kong where he had collected money from other people sent from foreign countries to pass out to the people that the people originally wanted send them to. The family received a minor share of the money given but there was a lot coming in daily so that it began to build up daily. Much of this delivering was done by horseback riding since there weren’t any cars back them except when my great grandfather had to cross the body of water between mainland China and Hong Kong. This was the reason to why my great grandfather owned a share of the boat because he had to constantly travel back and forth between mainland China and Hong Kong. My great grandfather had also owned a lot of farmable land. A lot of that land was rented to farmers so my dad’s family profited greatly from the monthly payments.
In this section, I thought that this  was the most interesting part of my great grandfather’s life. My great grandfather, while he was alive, owned a four story building with 5,000 square ft. on each floor. A person could just imagine that as a huge mansion. My father told me that back in the 1930s (when my great grandfather was alive), there were a lot of thieves since that police didn’t do much back then because the government didn‘t really support them. As a result, a lot of the thieves would come every night to our home to steal the belongings. Nevertheless, my great grandfather established a system to eliminate the sneaky thieves. The house contained a room storage filled with guns, mostly rifles. At night when the thieves came, a watchdog would sound an alarm alerting the family that there were thieves approaching in the distance. Within minutes, the family and possibly some servants would camp somewhere and aim and shoot at the thieves even if it meant killing them. If the thieves had common sense, the gun fire would drive them away and prevent them from coming back.
During World War II, Japan was in a great war with China. My great grandfather moved back to his family in Taishan province in Canton, China. The Japanese army was moving closer and closer to the South with everyday that passed by so he wanted to spend his moments with family rather than serve in the war. My father explained to me that many people including my great grandfather had done this as well. No one really wanted to separate from their family to go to war.
In 1951, about six years after World War II, my great grandfather passed away but not because of natural causes. After the world war, Communism was on the rise in China and Mao Zedong became the first chairman of the communist party of China. During his rule, one of his terrible actions is that he ordered the imperial army to arrest all of the wealthy people, in which one of them was my great grandfather, and placed them in jail to rot. The jails had horrible living conditions and eventually, my great grandfather died of starvation because the food there was unbearable. The family wealth was never returned and the family had basically dropped from the elite class to the poor class within a few years.
I think that this story has survived in my family because it was a tragic point of time within my father’s side of the family. This was the first time that I have heard any stories from my father. I thought that it would have only survived because it was not so many generations ago. My father knew about it even though he wasn’t born yet. If I had not asked, this story might have been forgotten and never to be told again unless there was some important event that came up or some tragedy. Before ever hearing of this story, I had always thought that my family were always farmers because of my mother’s stories. As mentioned before, I had never heard of any of my father’s stories. Finally on Monday, March 15 of 2011, my father has told me his first story about the legacy of my great grandfather. From this story, I basically learned that a part of me came from a family that was robbed by the Communist government and that all of my families‘ suffering were because of that government.  My family had basically turned poor because of it.
Although my great grandfather’s story had been tragic, there were also some upsides. This is why I am here today; in America. If my family had never known that Communism was such a horrible sight, my family would most likely to not have immigrated here. As a result, I would be born in China and the family may still not have immigrated here. To think further, if my family had not been robbed, my family may have not been together. In other words, my father may have never met my current mother because of the class difference. My father may have married a woman that was in the wealthy class. I would have been born but I would be a different person.

Joy Luck Club and Tiger Mom

In "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates," the second section of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, the relationships between the mother and daughter are similar and different with the relationships in the article "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" by Amy Chua.

In Amy Chua's article, she talks about how she had to force Lulu, her daughter to play a piece of music that was hard. Even though Sophia wanted to quit and stop playing because one of her music lines was too hard, Amy Chua had the patience to continue forcing her to learn how to play the music. It states,

"Back at the piano, Lulu made me pay... Then I hauled Lulu's dollhouse to the car and told her I'd donate it to the Salvation Army piece by piece if she didn't have "The Little White Donkey" perfect by the next day. When Lulu said, "I thought you were going to the Salvation Army, why are you still here?" I threatened her... When she still kept playing it wrong, I told her she was purposely working herself into a frenzy because she was secretly afraid she couldn't do it. I told her to stop being lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pathetic." (Why Chinese Mothers are Superior)

In this quote from Amy Chua's article, it discusses how she teaches her daughter. She forces Lulu to learn by threatening her and insulting her so that she would learn to do better so that others would not have to insult her. In my opinion, these threats from Amy helped to push Lulu so that she can prove herself to her mother. After pushing her, Lulu learns the piece and they celebrate. Therefore, a goal was basically set for Lulu so that when she achieves it, the mother - daughter bond would become stronger.

In the first section of "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates" called The Rules of the Game, it discusses about how Waverly Jong became a successful chess player. During her road to success, she had some help from her parents but it was the type of help that didn't help her improve playing chess but just to improve her environment. In the book, Waverly says,

"My parents made many concessions to allow me to practice, One time I complained that the bedroom I shared was so noisy that I couldn't think. Thereafter, my brothers slept in a bed in the living room facing the street. I said I couldn't finish my rice... I left the table with half-finished bowls and nobody complained" (Tan 98-99)

In this quote, it shows that the parents give her whatever she needed. Here, she needed quiet and focus in order to play chess so the parents gave her that. The relationship between the mother and daughter isn't really close because the daughter enjoys the effort made by the mother but the mother tends to brag about her winnings more than appreciating her.

Introduction to The twenty six Malignant Gates

In "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tam, the introduction of the second section explains a girl who wanted to ride her bike around the corner of the street but her mother doesn't want her to because of the book the mother read called "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates." The girl protested and left the room to ride her bike. She fell before she had even reached the corner of the street. I think that the stories in this section follow the introduction's theme; the conflict between parents and children.

In the first chapter of the second section, Waverly Jong talks about her story about how she had become a famous chess player when she was young. Her mother constantly bragged about her when she takes her shopping and Waverly got sick of it so she argued with her mother about this matter and ran away. When she came back home, no one really cared about Waverly anymore (Tan 100). Here, Waverly did not appreciate her mother's voice. As a result, she had received bad fortune and lost her family's respect. This shows the conflict between a mother and a daughter. The mother doesn't allow the daughter to have her free will while the daughter is disobedient and runs away.

In the second chapter of the second section, Lena shares her story about when she was younger. She was a translator in her family because her mother was a non-English Speaker and her father could only speak a few words in Mandarin. In a part of her story, Lena talks about her neighbors in San Francisco. Her neighbors consisted of Teresa and Mrs. Sorci, her mother. They frequently had arguments but it tended to end with love. In the book, it states:

"I [Lena] lay down on my bed waiting to hear the screams and shouts. And late at night I was still awake when I heard the loud voices next door. Mrs. Sorci was shouting and crying... and Teresa was yelling back, ... And then I head them laughing and crying, crying and laughing, shouting with love." (Tan 115)

In this quote, it discusses how Teresa and her mother are arguing and the arguments seem serious at first but it soon turns into laughter. I believe that this is the reason because the two females understand each other. They understand how the other feels. It shows that the conflict between a parent and a child could be end in a good result as long as they are able to understand each other.

I think that the purpose of the introduction of the second section of the book is that it gives a clue to what the stories proceeding the introduction would talk about. It shows the theme for the section.

Response to The Joy Luck Club

In her first story, daughter talks about how Suyuan, the mother told her first stories about living in Kweilin and how great it was. There was the Joy Luck Club that was started by her. Suyuan talked about how she was happy playing mahjong and winning. Then, the story was then spoken as the truth and Suyuan told her how bad it was living there and how they have moved to America to escape death.

I think that the mother changed the story every time because the daughter is beginning to grow up. The mother wants to explain the suffering that she had to go through when she was in her home country. Ther daughter is growing up and the mother could think that she could take it. I think the purpose is because when the daughter was young, it should have been more on fairytales that reality. This is because the truth sometimes scars the children for life since they have not yet felt such a pain in their life yet. It allows time for the child to develop until he or she could finally understand the full meaning of the story.

Response to Why Chinese Mothers are Superior by Amy Chua

Here is a paragraph from the article "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" by Amy Chua:

"There are all these new books out there portraying Asian mothers as scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids' true interests. For their part, many Chinese secretly believe that they care more about their children and are willing to sacrifice much more for them than Westerners, who seem perfectly content to let their children turn out badly. I think it's a misunderstanding on both sides. All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that." - Amy Chua

After reading the article, I think that parents owe time and money for their children. I believe that parents need to donate time from their time and lives to motivate their children. It doesn't have to be in just studies though it tends to be favored by Chinese parents. It could be in sports or extracurricular activities. I think that the parents shouldn't give up on their children just because they say no or fuss around being stubborn. I believe that the parents should perservere and use any means necessary to make consequences if parents encounter difficulties. 

After reading the article, I think that the children should respect the time that their parents put in to teach them or be with them. Children should not argue and just go with the flow but based on my personal experience, they are mostly stubborn and don't really care for it. Nevertheless, they do enjoy recieving rewards that raises their self-esteem. I think that children should owe their success to their parents. They should thank them for giving up most of their time to make them who they are when they grow up.

Although my Chinese parents treat me rather differently compared to Amy Chua, they still donate their time to help me.

Current Egypt in Condition Similar to Animal Farm.

Currently, Egypt has now been free from Mubarak for about five days now. The military declares that it is only "temporarily" holding office until the next election. The plan is to establish a democratic government that is controlled by the people. --- Egypt Daily News

Even though Mubarak has gone away, it is only the beginning of the new Egypt. There is a long way before the government becomes perfect. Currently, Egypt could go both ways. It can become what it was like before, a dictatorship or it can become democratic, where all citizens rule the government. There was also the rebellion of Honduras but the nation became Communist. The current setting is similar to the beginning what had happened to the government system in Animal Farm, a novel written by George Orwell. In his book, he tells a story where the animals over throw Mr. Jones or the tyrant. They are successful and establish a government system where animals are treated equally. Unfortunately, that doesn't last. The ways that the current setting in Egypt and/ or other countries is similar to Animal Farm is that it began with social gathering, ending in failure, and organization for future protests/ outbreaks.

One connection is that social gathering was involved in the rebellions for both Animal Farm, Egypt, and Tunisia. In Animal Farm, the animals gathered in a meeting in the barn and discussed how the future would be like after the rebellion. They also discussed about how the rebellion would work out. In Egypt and Tunisia, people went on Twitter and Facebook to organize protests against their Tyrant.

Another connection is that the government becomes corrupt in Animal Farm and in the Honduran government. In Animal Farm, it was a democracy when Snowball was still there but it had become a dictatorship after Napoleon took over when Napoleon drove Snowball out of the farm with the use of dogs in an election. In Honduras, a few political leaders decided to make the nation communist and succeed after the revolution.

As the last one, other countries were preparing for uprising like Animal Farm. In Animal Farm, the farmers began to prepare themselves after they learned that the animals had rebelled Mr. Jones out of the farm. Currently, nearby countries such as Iran are preparing to defend themselves from protests.

Chapter 11 of Animal Farm

As the years progressed, the animals had only looked older. The only exception would be Clover who had the same fate of Boxer. Moses had never returned to the farm again for he was to never speak of Sugarcandy Mountain. Benjamin was the only animal that was able to read and write besides the pigs. He remembered the details of his life, especially how his best friends Boxer and Clover, had died. From the point where Clover was sent to be slaughtered, Benjamin had changed significantly.

The animals continued to work under the hard labor and the poor rations that Napoleon had placed upon them. When one of the animals were working poorly, the animal would be whipped, killed, or taken off their rations. As a result, no animal ever complained for they did not wish to die or to be tortured.

After the workday -- which was now every day of the week as announced by Napoleon -- Benjamin had returned tired with a few streaks of blood from his back. He arrived at his stall and sat quietly. The other animals quietly entered the barn staggering across the hallway looking for a place to rest. Dogs followed, growling every time the animals steered away from the line. The animals settled down quickly and the dogs locked the barn door when they checked that all the lower animals were inside.

All was silent until one of the ducklings whispered out, “Are they gone yet?” The crowd of animals stayed still and listened for any steps or noises.

“Comrades, do not worry, we may resume with our meetings,” Benjamin replied. With these words, a sigh of relief had come upon the animals. “I understand your pains. Your pains are my pains. Even I too am suffering. There will be a time when we will take down our tyrant. Our dream of equality will come true and our hard work will be worth while. A long time ago… ”

“But when will that time be?” one of the hens interrupted. The animals murmured in agreement.

“Do not worry comrades, we will know when the time is right. A long time ago, an honorable boar once said that there would be a day where all animals would be equal. A time where no animals can tell another animal what to do. On that day, we will fight to achieve his dream.” The animals were confused and curious. “Do not worry about that matter. I will tell you when the time is right. For now, continue to work even though it is of great pain. But with each day, work a little less. Now comrades, sleep and rest for tomorrow is a new day.” The crowd of animals hummed the Beasts of England and went to sleep silently.

The following day, the unlocking of the doors alerted the animals to jump up from their bed. The dogs marched inward surrounding the new pig who had replaced Squealer. Squealer gave them their orders to what to do and gave the animals their daily rations. The meal never filled up any of the animals but they didn‘t complain. The animals quickly finished their meal and headed outside to work.

Weeks passed and Benjamin continued to make the same inspiring statement in each meeting. The animals continued working a little less everyday just like what Benjamin had told them to do. Nevertheless, the dogs and the pigs did not notice the change in their work except for Napoleon. He noticed that there was not enough food produced but the pigs supervising the animals believed that it was because of the insects and the drought this year. Nevertheless, Napoleon continued to suspect that this was the animal’s plan to sabotage Manor Farm.

After the workday was over, the animals returned to the barn. The black cockerel crowed and Napoleon entered into the barn guarded by three dogs. The animals stood still as the upper animals passed by. Napoleon announced to the lower animals, “Starting tomorrow, there shall be dogs guard at the barn door overnight. It seems that there has been a threat in this farm and someone has been stealing our food. Any animal caught in the farm stealing will be executed immediately.” The speech ended with the sheep’s bleating of

“Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!”

After his statement, the lower animals were fed with their typical ration of food and the upper animals left the scene to enjoy the night in another party with Mr. Pilkington and other farmers.

As soon as the animals had finished their rations and settled down, Benjamin called an emergency meeting. The animals one by one gathered around him and waited patiently. Benjamin spoke in a firm tone, “I am well aware that we have all heard what Napoleon said, comrades. Hence forward, dogs will be guarding the barn every night starting the next day. Tonight, comrades, may just be the last day in which there will be a meeting. This is the sign that we are waiting for that we, comrades must strike together. Tomorrow will be the day in which we will attack and overthrow the wicked Napoleon.”

The animals were shocked and amazed to hear. One of the horses asked, “How do we fight them? Some of us are afraid. The dogs are ferocious and the pigs have humans to help them.” The crowd of animals murmured in agreement but Benjamin was not surprised by the question.

“I understand your fear. I lived through the rebellion of Mr. Jones and witnessed many deaths on the battlefield. What the pigs have told you about the rebellion are false. I used to have a great friend and he was a great warrior in the rebellion. He was a brave stallion, strong but gentle. In the rebellion, he charged without falling back and continued attacking the opponent. He was shot at a few times but continued to fight as if he had received no pain. He never wanted to kill anyone, only to drive the enemy away. I wish that at tomorrow‘s battle, all of us would be like that. I believe that it is better to die free than to spend the rest of our lives living as slaves. I will risk my life tomorrow and if something were to happen to me, tell the future generations of animals what happened in the battle tomorrow.” At the moment, the animals were inspired to fight. They were ready and didn’t care whether they lived. All they want to do is end Napoleon’s rule.

The following morning, the barn animals were ready. They stood in line, waiting for that door to open. At the signal of the click that meant that the barn was unlocked, the sheep, horses, and cows rushed towards the door with Benjamin the donkey leading them in action while the rest of the animals followed. Outside the barn, the door was flung out with a stampede of animals rushing out. The dogs and pigs sent to deliver orders were caught off guard and as a result, trampled on. The ambush then turned towards the farm.

Rushing out, Napoleon, other fellow pigs, and the rest of the dogs gathered outside of the farmhouse as the stampede could be heard through the war cries of Benjamin and the other animals. The dogs and several of the pigs had rushed towards the ambush to fight. Napoleon had stayed behind to call Mr. Pilkington to gather his men to help.

On the battlefield, blood was shed everywhere. Dogs were chewing and biting the animals that were in their way. The horses used their hooves to forcefully kick the dogs away. The cows stepped on and gored the dogs. The chickens were scratching the pigs using their claws. The sheep were butting their heads at the pigs making them fall. The pigs used their whips to hit the animals and gnawed and bit into the animals as a backup. Benjamin kicked the pigs away and helped his fellow animals. Many of the animals that had fallen to the ground was crushed by the heavier animals.

A few minutes later, Napoleon’s reinforcements, Pilkington’s men had come to Manor Farm with guns. A few shots ran into the air. The bullets alarmed the animals for a second for the bullets had killed fighters on both sides. The lower animals immediately continued fighting as Benjamin kicked and crushed a dog to its death. The bullets continue to fire until it finally hit Benjamin. He fell head first towards the floor and died. The lower animals stopped once more as they saw their leader fall. His long life had finally come to an end as he laid on the grass, still and silent. Nonetheless, the lower animals continued to fight because they knew that they must continue fighting for: their equality.

In the end, the army of the lower animals had fallen apart due to the guns of Pilkington‘s men. Some ran away while others surrendered in front of Napoleon. The battlefield which was once a field of full-grown crops became a pile of dead animals that fought for what they had believed in. The remaining lower animals that had surrendered were executed. The dead bodies of the lower animals were sold to make a profit and were replaced with other farm animals that was donated from Pilkington’s farm. The pigs and dogs that died were given a proper funeral funded by Napoleon. From that point on, there were not anymore protests and outbreaks of violence. The pigs continued to rule for the rest of the existence of Manor Farm.

Rebuttal to Rahni (not really)

After looking at Rahni's Post , I would like to say that it was a good post but there are a lot of problems with her evidence. Here is what I have to say:

On the second paragraph to her opening statement, how does she know that teenagers are all influenced by others? There are teenagers that do not listen to their parents and like to make decisions by themselves. Also, not all teenagers live with their parents their whole lives. That is merely a false statement. She even contradicted herself when she writes that teenagers are influenced by everything, everyday. How about when you agree with something you hear one day, and then you disagree about the same topic the next because you were influenced by the media. After that you would be confused so you are bound to make your own decision to whether you agree with it or not. 

On the third and final paragraph to her opening statement, she states that the maturity level of teenagers are not yet full because she saw some freshman fool around in her Physical Education class. First, just because a few teenagers were messing around, doesn't mean that every teenager in the United States are like that. There are those that are well behaved and pay attention. Second, the quote states that the brain has not fully matured until the age of 25. The maturity of a student does not relate to the maturity of the brain. Where is the proof for that. No one is the same so that quote might not actually be true for everyone. There could be those where their brain develops completely and those that have brains that develop a little bit slower. 

Note:  I had also done the topic of whether teen's should be able to vote and also said no. 

Animal Farm In-Class Mini-Essay Chapters 1-5

Leadership is a role that many desire. Some abuse the power while others use it to help those in need. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, he creates a few characters that are displayed as leaders. Even though the leaders are pigs, they show different aspects of politics. Each of the pigs are different in the way they show leadership but there are some ways in which they are similar.

A boar named Major was the leader of the animals in the farm before the rebellion happened. He was old and he passed away rather early in the book after his great speech. In his speech, he discusses about how animals must get rid of man and that all animals will be friends. He states, “And remember comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that man and the animals have a common interest… It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades” (Orwell 30-31). In Major’s speech, he includes all animals. He believes that all animals should be equal and that to rid of man should be the main goal of animals. He tends to use the word “comrades” in his speech when talking about animals; meaning that all animals should be friends. In his speech, he chooses words that creates a powerful tone that influences his audience. He uses words such as falter, astray, interest, unity, and struggle to create this tone.  His language is effective when communicating with the “lower” animals because he includes them all in his speech.

Another pig named Snowball was a co-leader in a beginning section of the book after Major had died. He created the seven commandments that he believe to be what major would have wanted. In one of the commandments, it states that all those that goes on two legs is an enemy. The birds didn’t want to believe in the commandments because of that rule. Nevertheless, he had a different meaning for that rule. He says, “A bird’s wing, comrades… is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. It should therefore be regarded as a leg. The distinguishing mark of man is the hand, the instrument with which he does all his mischief” (Orwell 50-51). Like Major, Snowball tries to include the animals even though they are different. The tone of Snowball’s words seem pleasant because he is explaining thoroughly to the birds why the birds are not enemies. Snowball is talking to the birds as comrades not as an enemy. The birds are influenced to pay attention to him because he seems to be a leader that cares for them. His speech is effective in a way that brought the birds to acknowledge that they are comrades with Snowball. On the other hand, his speech is not that effective because the pig tend to use big words that the birds do not understand.

Both of the pigs spoke greatly. They both include all the animals and consider them to that they are equal. Nevertheless, Major spoke in a language that animals are able to understand and to be able to convince them to abolish man to make the world become a better place. Snowball used longer words so that he would seem smarter and that everyone would then trust him as a result. Snowball does include as many animals as possible and tries to continue Major’s goal where all animals would be equal.

Opening Statement: Teens should not be able to vote

The debate of whether teenagers should vote has been common in American Society. Many of the teenagers believe that they should be able to vote because they believe that the right to vote should be for everyone. They believe that they can make a change. For what do I say, if you don't even understand the concept for voting. Therefore, I believe that teenagers should not vote not because they shouldn't have a say in our government, but because they are not at the right age yet.

Many teenagers don't have true knowledge of what politics is truly about. Although they can get some information about politics in classrooms or from their parents, the information they receive can be one sided. So, it is the parents and teachers that are influencing the teenagers' votes, not themselves. When a person votes, it should be his or her own opinion, not anyone else's. 

Teenagers already have enough responsibilities for them so why should they vote. Teenagers should probably worry more about what their goal is in life and how they should achieve it. Teenagers should have school to worry about and don't need to get caught in politics at an early stage. The parents are probably voting while they are at home doing homework, texting to their friends, or doing some else. They are just busy doing their own activities than worrying about politics.

Some teenagers are not mature enough to vote. They would choose the president they think would suit themselves rather than suit the nation and its citizens. Some teenagers vote for a politician because he or she sounds smart or because of her race. Just because someone is of a white ethnicity, doesn't mean that they are smart and a great leader. One recent example would be President George W. Bush. On the other hand, the fact that someone is African American doesn't mean that they are in a gang and poor. Our current president, President Barack Obama, is the first African American and is one of the greatest leaders of America.

Many teenagers do not understand what they are voting for. The taxes and laws that the government wants to enact are not always truly understood by teenagers. Yes, some of these taxes and/ or laws are shown in ads but they can lie to people and only a few would realize that they are lying.


Finally, not many young people between the ages 18-25 vote. According to 2008 ACCOMPLISHMENTS, only 51% of that certain age group voted in the 2008 election. Why should teenagers vote when only a little more than half the young adults vote at all. Thank You.

References:

http://www.teenink.com/opinion/current_events_politics/article/203884/Allowing-Teenagers-To-Vote-Is/

Political Power

Writing Prompt: In your opinion, does political power corrupt the people who attain it? Also, how do you think George Orwell would answer this question?

In your opinion, people who attain political power does not corrupt them. The people abuse political power because they chose to. For example, George Washington had many followers because he was a famous general in the America Revolution. He became the first presidents of the United States. He could have abused his power as a leader but chose to not to.

I think that George Orwell would have written a different opinion to this question. He had come from a time where Communism was on the rose. He also expresses his opinion in his book, Animal Farm. Although Orwell uses talking animals, it is still about political power. In the end of the first chapter, Mr. Jones used terror to silence the animals. In Animal Farm Orwell wrote, "He seized the gun... and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness... the pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly... and the whole farm was asleep in a moment" (Orwell 34). This quote describes the power in which Mr. Jones has on the farm. He plainly fires and the rebellious animals retreat in terror. Like Communism, Mr. Jones symbolizes the tyrant and the gun in which he fires is the army that terrorizes the animals, which symbolize the citizens. Another quote also describes George Orwell's opinion. After the animals had completed their rebellion, they decided to set their own government system and agreed that all animals would be equal. A little bit later, the equality tips over to the pig's favor. In Animal Farm, the pigs argued that the milk and the apples should be for them only because they are necessary for a pigs health (Orwell 52). The pigs win their debate and could have all the apples and milk for themselves (Orwell 53). This showed that step by step, the pigs are getting more "fortune" for themselves. They are slowly able to manipulate the animals and bring them under their control because they believe that they are the heart of the farm. The opinion of George Orwell here is that political power slowly corrupts the people who attain them because the pigs were originally rather nice but as they acquired more power, they are becoming meaner.

Jared Loughner Case in Arizona

Just last weekend there was a fatal shooting in Tuscon, Arizona where a mentally ill man named Jared Loughner had killed six people and injured fourteen people at a shopping mall using his legally purchased glock. One of his victims was congresswoman named Gabrielle Giffords who had been shot in the head point blank by Loughner. Fortunately, the congresswoman is recovering after the major surgery and Jared Loughner is currently facing federal charges for the casualties. Many say that he did it because of rage while others thought that he had tried to assassinate the congresswoman on purpose. 

Many wonder whether Jared Loughner should be punished or not because of his mental illness. According to my beliefs, I think that he should be punished but not with money or just several years in prison. I believe that he should be confined to house arrest or maximum security prison until the time is right for him to come back out again. The only reason I think this is because he is mentally ill. Sometimes, mentally ill people cannot control themselves unless they take some certain drugs or receive treatment. He should be monitored and be isolated from the rest of the world to prevent any further injuries to anymore innocent people. 

I think that this incident might not have happened if only the gun wasn't sold to Loughner and part of the fault was the gun dealer. I wondered how he even managed to buy a gun legally. Because of this case, I think that gun laws should be more strict. It was as if the gun dealer plainly handed the gun to him in the exchange for money and a signature on papers to register the gun. I think that the dealer should have at least looked at his past criminal record and health record  to check if something was at least wrong with the person. I'll bet if the person that saw Loughner's medical record, he would have refused to sell the weapon to him. I guess that is what happens when you make a mistake. 

I hope that congresswoman is able to function properly after her recovery. 

Re: Group Projects by Andy Lau

Group projects are always great to do but if you don't have a productive group, there isn't any fun into doing it. It becomes rather one sided. I looked at Andy Lau's post and I have to agree with many of the opinions he blogged about. Here is what he said: 

"I understand that group projects are a good way for us to meet new people. If students are new to a school, group projects can be an anchor to long lasting friendships. They unite students of different backgrounds together. In addition, group projects can also be fun when you are in a group with people you get along with. Furthermore, working in groups with cooperative team members will help us get the work completed faster. It also allows different perspectives to be heard. In group work, students can each bring in their own talent and hide their weaknesses. 

However, working in groups is not always successful. Group projects can be very stressful, especially if you are assigned in a group in which the students are lazy, uncooperative, and always off task." - Andy Lau

I agree with many of the things that he says, but I don't really think that it is a good way to meet  new people since we tend to choose the people that we like to work with. If everything goes well, you would have a fun time and everyone would pretty much split the work evenly. Also, new ideas could come aboard to make a project more interesting.

But as everyone probably knows, not everything is perfect. There is always a few groups that contain lazy people and one or two people do all the work. The lazy ones plainly sit there enjoying their easy opportunity to a high grade. Those that enjoy the easy A would appear to be working when the real workers are trying their best staying up at night finishing up the "group's" work and wishing that they should have gotten a better group. So in the end, the ones that hardly do any work cheated their way into earning that grade.

Most persuasive response and the least persuasive

Throughout the week, students at ASTI read seven responses that answered the following question, "Will you have a better life if you graduate from an elite college or university?" We were to decide which was the most persuasive and the least persuasive out of the seven of them.


After reading the responses, I thought that the  was "Merit and Race" by Luis Fuentes Rohwer. His main point was that going to an elite college  is better than going to a "weak" school. He says that going to a elite school would place you in a spot where you have a higher graduation rate and a higher probability of going into graduate school. I know that more people tend to graduate elite colleges and universities more but I thought that the probability or graduation depends on your effort at college/ university. Luis also states that if a person goes to an elite college, they have lower divorce rates and a better health. That was extremely random. I do not even know how those two are even related to education. He didn't even put evidence to support his evidence. The most terrible thing that he said was that quality in a college or university does not matter. This ticked me off because quality is one of the most important things in colleges and universities. Would you go to an elite college that contains bad teachers and a dirty campus? I wouldn't.


 I believe that the least persuasive response was called "Graduate School Matters More" by David W. Breneman. His main point of his response is to communicate to others that the ranking of a college does not matter but the importance lies withing the students capabilities of attending elite schools. He says that all those that are college ready and created a goal for themselves may go to an elite college sooner and continue to move on to graduate school to achieve their goal. He notes that the students that are not ready to continue on to a elite college or university after high school graduation. He says that they would have a higher chance of being lost in the institution and the probability of graduating and/ or going to graduate school is much lower. He suggested that those who aren't ready should attend community colleges where it focuses on student development towards a college environment. Finally, he notes that elite colleges tend to have a high intuition so the family might not be able to afford it. David W. Breneman's response convinced me the most because it changed my mind about whether going to an elite school is important. The response made me think, "If I'm not even ready to attend an elite college or university yet, what is the point? It's going to be hard for me to stay alert if I'm not adjusted to a new environment. I should be patient and use more time to prepare myself."